Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Licensed To Wed


In Maryland, happy couples who are seeking to tie the knot must first obtain a marriage license from the county clerk in the county where they seek to be married.  That much is clear and Frederick divorce and custody lawyers will direct you to the Maryland family law code at section 2-401 if there was any doubt.  But what happens if you don’t?  What happens if you wake up after a night at Cactus Flats face down in a bowl of roasted peanuts, with a beer tab on your left hand and a handful of wedding pictures in your right hand? 

Well to start with, you and your betrothed are both guilty of a misdemeanor and will pay a fine of $100.00.  Whoever performed the ceremony is guilty of a misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $500.00.  Are you legally married?  No but, you are illegally married.  Huh?

What I mean is that your marriage ceremony was not legal but it is a marriage in the eyes of the law none the less.  Your marriage is not void.  You are not eligible for an annulment and if you want to be unmarried you need a divorce the same as a couple who was married in front of the whole town with a license, a preacher and all the trimmings.  It’s similar to the calls that Frederick custody and divorce lawyers get from people who have only been married months, weeks, days or hours.  Those people still have to get a standard divorce, and so does anybody married without a license

Timothy Conlon, Esq.  The Custody Place.

The Custody Place

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