VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE LICENSE IN CALIF? This is a two-part question.
BACKGROUND: I was married in a spontaneous ceremony (by a licensed
officiant) that occurred three days before we applied for a marriage
license. Upon the minister's instructions, we left the date of the
ceremony blank, for him to fill in. He indicated that the date he
would enter would be a later date than that of the actual ceremony. (I
assume this was to fulfill the California state requirement that the
officiant return the signed license within 10 days of performing the
ceremony. ) We applied for the license three days after the ceremony,
and sent it to the minister, who said he signed and sent it to the
county courthouse.  The actual date of the ceremony would be easy to
prove, as it was reported in multiple dated newspaper accounts.
1. First, let's say the date entered by the minister WAS the actual
ceremony date after all, not a later date as he had suggested. If this
is true....Because the actual ceremony pre-dated the license
application by three days, is the marriage invalid?
2. However, the minister may have entered a later date from the actual
ceremony, in order to fulfill the California state requirement that
the officiant submit the signed license within 10 days of the
ceremony. (If he'd entered the actual date, the application almost
certainly would not have been received by the county recorder's office
within the 10 days.) If, when I obtain my copy of the license, I find
that the date does not match the actual date of the ceremony, does
this invalidate the marriage?

Dear musette-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. We are
not attorneys here and if you read our disclaimer you will see that we
are not authorized to provide legal advice. What I am showing you here
is published law that anyone can read and interpret for themselves
with the caveat that it is always wise to consult a licensed attorney
in matters of law.

There are two obvious issues on the table here for consideration, and
both are quite serious errors statutorily speaking:

First, as per my unlicensed interpretation of the state statutes, if
you attempted to solemnize your marriage prior to obtaining a license,
according to California Family Code it does indeed appear that the
marriage is invalid. Family Code Section 305 emphatically states [ the
caps are mine for emphasis sake ] :

?350. (a) BEFORE entering a marriage, OR declaring a marriage pursuant
to Section 425, the parties shall FIRST obtain a marriage license from
a county clerk.?
http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/code/code.html?sec=fam&codesection=350-360

This, in itself, is an indication of the invalidity of your presumed marriage.

Secondly, there is the issue of truthfulness of the document. For the
marriage to be valid the information on the documentation must be true
and correct. Family Code Section 422 states:

?The person solemnizing a marriage shall make, sign, and endorse upon
or attach to the marriage license a statement, in the form prescribed
by the State Department of Health Services, showing all of the
following: (a) The fact, date (month, day, year), and place (city and
county) of solemnization.?
http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/code/code.html?sec=fam&codesection=420-425

If the information contained in the sworn affidavit is intentionally
fraudulent the legal validity of the solemnization clearly comes into
question.

So, in short, it does appear, as you alluded to in your question, that
due to the incorrect order in which the requirements were met (i.e.,
the lack thereof) and the erroneous dates applied to the affidavit in
an effort to circumvent the law, the marriage is probably TECHNICALLY
invalid. The true test of course would be to consult an attorney for
advice, but as for the opinion of a layman, mine speaks for itself.
If, on the other hand, no one ever challenges the issue and you both
agree FOREVER that the matter is resolved, there will probably be no
problems arise from your spontaneous act. Somewhere down the road
though it could come back to haunt you if, for example, you split up
months or years from now and one of you decides you were never legally
married and reveals the truth.

Your best bet is to remarry (the right way) and your problem will be
solved, but there again, it would be best to consult an attorney to
find out if this is really necessary.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



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From what you have described, I think your marriage is invalid, either
way. If it's important to you, I'd get married [again], AFTER
obtaining the license, --right away.

How is that that a "licensed officiant" was willing to preside over
the ceremony when you did not have a license?

If there is any doubt as to the validity of the marriage, it does seem
like a good idea to repeat it with the correct paperwork.

The main reason I'm asking about the validity, is that I would like to
void this marriage ceremony because we did it far too prematurely. I
would very much like to get to know my mate slowly and then marry
without rushing things -- and without either of us first-timers doing
so as divorcees. Any comments, suggestions are very welcome.