Top Five Strange Marriage Laws in the United States
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce, Top 5 Divorce Articles
Marriage can be confusing enough on its own, but several states still have laws on the books that may make you scratch your head.
- In Kentucky, it’s illegal to remarry the same person four times.
- In Tennessee, a person may file for divorce on the grounds that their spouse made an attempt on their life by poison or other means showing malice.
- Adulterers beware! New Mexico and Mississippi each have a divorce law that allows the victim of adultery to sue the paramour of the cheating spouse for damages.
- California, Colorado, Montana, and yes, even Texas, allow for the practice of marriage by proxy, which means someone stands in for a bride or groom who can’t be present at his or her wedding. This is limited to members of the U.S. Armed Forces, but is still in practice today.
- In South Carolina, under the Offenses Against Morality and Decency Act, it is illegal for men over the age of sixteen to propose marriage as a joke. If they don’t mean it when they say it, they have committed a misdemeanor