1 Marriage - Lecture notes 4 PDF

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This lecture is about how marriage works under the law,...

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MARRIAGE WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE “The voluntary union for life by one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others”- Hyde v Hyde (1866) WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE Two people making a lifelong commitment to one another, because they love each other and want to be together for the rest of their lives. BENEFITS OF MARRIAGE Stability, possible health benefits such as reduced chance of depression, financial benefits and happiness. IS MARRIAGE IMPORTANT If you are religious, then yes marriage is very important. If not then it varies and depends on the person or people involved. To me, marriage is not important. At the end of the day a commitment is a commitment and I don’t’t believe that it needs to be made official, that two people are in love, with a piece of paper. SHOULD THERE BE RULES REGARDING MARRIAGE I think there should be two rules regarding marriage. Firstly, no cheating on your significant other. Secondly, I feel that both parties should be required to try everything humanly possible to make the marriage work if things get tough. Such a big commitment shouldn’t be something that you can easily throw away, as this is something that is seen all too often these days. FACTS ABOUT MARRIAGE FROM 2012:  There was approximately one marriage every two minutes.  There was an increase of 5.3% in marriages between 2011 and 2012.  70% of marriages were civil marriages.  60% of marriages took place in approved premises.  67% were first time marriages.  15% were remarriages for both parties, and 19% were remarriages for one of the couple.  The greatest number of marriages was for the age group 25-29.  The mean age of men who married was 36.5 years, and the mean age of women was 34 years.  The largest increase in marriages was for those aged 65-69. This figure rose by 25% for men and 21% for women. From this information, I can conclude that marriage is increasing in popularity as the total number of marriages rose by 5.3%. The majority of marriages

involved young people aged 25-29, while the number of elderly marriages increased a huge amount. There was also a lot more first time marriages than remarriages in 2012. This data suggests that people are more likely to get married at a young age, it also suggest that a significant number of these marriages may not work out and lead to remarriages in the future. DEFINITIONS: MONOGAMY- One man and woman, although under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 this does not have to be one man and one woman in the UK. POLYGAMY- More than one wife or husband. This is not legal in the UK. BIGAMY- Marrying another person while still married to someone else. This is not legal in the UK. SERIAL MONOGAMY OR MODIFIED POLYGAMY- A succession of marriages over time. REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID MARRIAGE:  At least 16 years of age, but parental permission is required for the marriage of those aged 16 or 17.  No close blood relationship between the two parties.  Both parties must be single.  Formalities must be observed. E.G. the marriage must be conducted by an authorised person and must take place in an authorised building with a license for marriage, and two people must be present as witnesses.  Failure to comply with any of these requirements voids the marriage and the parties will not legally be married. I am for the requirement of being at least 16 years old as I don’t believe in young marriage because it takes time to know that you want to spend the rest of your life with one person and it is not something that should be rushed into. If anything, I think the legal age should be 18 years for marriage. As for the formalities, I don’t think these should be necessary as long as the ceremony is performed by someone with the legal capacity to ordain a marriage then it doesn’t matter who is there or where it takes place.

SCENARIO ONE Harry and Vijay are neighbours. Harry has confided to James that he got married five years ago, but left his wife after only one week. Harry is planning to marry Sally, who is aged 17. Her parents object

to the marriage, so Harry and Sally are going to get married at 8am in a local hotel. Harry has asked Vijay to be the witness. ADVISE HARRY WHAT LEGAL EFFECT THE FOLLOWING WOULD HAVE ON HIS PROPOSED MARRIAGE TO SALLY: I. HIS PREVIOUS MARRIAGE Harry’s previous marriage would void any future nuptials until he got a divorce, at which point he could re-marry. Otherwise, this would be known as a bigamous relationship and this is not legal in the UK. II. SALLY’S AGE Sally’s age is a problem, being that she is 17 years old she would need her parent’s permission to get married. Since her parents object to he marriage, Harry and Sally would not legally be able to get married. III. THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY IS PLANNED The wedding ceremony needs to take place in an authorised building, E.G. a church or another building licensed for marriages. Harry has planned to have Vijay as a witness, however, two witnesses are legally needed....