If no legal marriage certificate is needed or wanted, can U.S.
clergymen marry a man and a woman, each over 25 years of age, before
God without a marriage permit? If so, can they issue some sort of
record of the marriage? If so, what denomination clergymen and in
which states are such marriages performed? |
Request for Question Clarification by
czh-ga
on
07 Feb 2005 19:32 PST
Hello stephen4434-ga,
Please clarify that I understand your question correctly.
You would like to know whether any state in the US permits a marriage
without a marriage license. Is this correct? If yes, you want to know
who is authorized to perform marriages in that state and whether they
can issue "some sort of record of marriage" instead of a marriage
certificate. Is this correct?
If I've misunderstood please give additional details about what you're
looking for. Thanks.
~ czh ~
|
Clarification of Question by
stephen4434-ga
on
08 Feb 2005 05:13 PST
You are correct, except that I did not plan to see a lawyer or
government agency to ask legal permission. Rather, I had planned to
approach a Protestant minister and ask him to perform a marriage
ceremony before God. However, I know that this minister would be bound
by the law of the state. I hope to marry her in Houston, Texas two
weeks from now. She is single and I am legally separated but we do not
want to wait until my divorce is final to get married before God. Can
you find out whether Protestant ministers commonly perform such
ceremonies?
|
Request for Question Clarification by
czh-ga
on
08 Feb 2005 10:39 PST
Hello stephen4434-ga,
When you say "I am legally separated" I assume you're also saying that
your divorce isn't final. No state, including Texas, allows bigamy so
you cannot marry your girlfriend until you obtain a divorce regardless
of who you want to perform the ceremony. I can provide you with all
the requirements for getting married in Texas. Will that be an
acceptable answer?
~ czh ~
|
Clarification of Question by
stephen4434-ga
on
08 Feb 2005 11:49 PST
No. I aleady have the legal requirements for marriages in Texas. You
are correct in that my divorce is not final, but it will be final in
August when the waiting period is over. I have what is commonly called
a "Catholic Divorce" right now, which means that I have a
court-approved property settlement and separation agreement. The
property has already been settled. My ex-wife lives in Thailand now,
and does not plan to return to the U.S.. What I'm trying to find out
is whether clergymen can and will perform an 'unofficial' marriage
ceremony in the United States.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
czh-ga
on
08 Feb 2005 12:40 PST
Hello again stephen4434-ga,
I'm afraid I'm still not totally clear about your situation. You
say,"I aleady have the legal requirements for marriages in Texas." One
of the requirements is that you be free to marry. If you've been
previously married, your divorce has to be final.
You say, "You are correct in that my divorce is not final, but it will
be final in August when the waiting period is over." In Texas, the
waiting period is normally 60 days. There must be some reason that
your divorce will not be final until August.
You say, "I have what is commonly called a "Catholic Divorce" right
now, which means that I have a court-approved property settlement and
separation agreement. The property has already been settled. My
ex-wife lives in Thailand now, and does not plan to return to the
U.S.." By "Catholic Divorce" do you mean an annulment by the Catholic
church? Getting a Catholic annulment is not sufficient for obtaining a
legal divorce. Having a property settlement is prerequisite to divorce
in Texas. Is there a longer waiting period because your wife is out of
the country?
You ask, "What I'm trying to find out is whether clergymen can and
will perform an 'unofficial' marriage ceremony in the United States."
You cannot marry legally in Texas until your divorce is final. Whoever
officiates at your marriage will need to see the marriage license --
which requires having a final divorce. An 'unofficial' marriage
ceremony while you're still married will make the new marriage
invalid.
Please clarify if I've misunderstood any of the facts of your case. Thanks.
~ czh ~
|
Clarification of Question by
stephen4434-ga
on
08 Feb 2005 13:29 PST
We accept that such a ceremony will not be legal or valid. That is
what we fully expect. We are not asking anyone to do anything illegal
and we are not looking to incriminate anyone or cause them harm in any
way. Our concern is whether there is any clergymen who would perform
such an invalid marriage ceremony, given that we are not asking for a
marriage certificate.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
czh-ga
on
08 Feb 2005 20:53 PST
Hello stephen4434-ga,
Thank you for the explicit explanation of what you're looking for. I
think it's called an Evanagelical Covenant Marriage.
http://www.policyofliberty.net/CovenantMarriage.html
I have not been able to find anyone in Texas openly willing to perform
one. It might be because performing a marriage ceremony without a
marriage license is a misdemeanor in Texas.
Maybe another researcher will be able to find what you're looking for.
~ czh ~
|
