Question

married or not?


my fiancee got maried by force in lebanon (religious mariage) she is in usa now. How to know if she is married for usa laws? can they make available this mariage in usa without her signing anything in usa? she wants to go to france but she needs to know if she is married in usa. if she is not, so she is free to be married in france coz religious marriage are not available. if she is, we need to make her divorce ( she doesnt live with the husband, they wait for a ceremony) So we want a way to check her marital status in usa.( her usa passport is still same, still same family name but I dont know if in usa the wife changes her family name to husband's name)



Answer

Re: married or not?


The basic rule is that a marriage valid where celebrated is valid everywhere. Thus, if the marriage is valid in Lebanon, it is probably valid in Florida and in France. However, at least two other factors must be considered before concluding that the marriage is valid: (1)Was the marriage consummated? That is, did the couple live together as husband and wife? If they did, it would be very difficult to claim that the marriage is invalid. If they did not consummate the marriage, then the chances of the marriage being invalid are much better. (2)Did the wife freely consent to the marriage at the time it was entered into? If she was under duress or her consent was not voluntary, then this would be grounds for claiming that the marriage is not valid. However, if she subsequently lived with her husband and the marriage was consummated, this would probably be deemed as ratification, and the marriage would be valid.



I hope this is of some help to you.