In Tennessee if the marriage license applicant lied and said no previous marriage, is the marriage valid?
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In Tennessee if the marriage license applicant lied and said no previous marriage, is the marriage valid?
Wife lied and said no previous
marriages. She was married twice before.
Do I need to divorce or is this marriage
invalid?
Asked on September 8, 2019 under Family Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There are basically 2 types of invalid marriages: those that are "void" and those that are "voidable". Void marriages are those that cannot legally exist and so are deemed to never have been valid. Such marriages are generally limited to those where one party is already legally married to someone elseand those between underage parties or close relatives.I n other words, bigamy, lack of consent and incest. A voidable a marriage is technically invalid but isn’t immediately dissolved and continues as a valid union until an annulment is sought. This would include instances where the official presiding over the marriage wasn’t certified to do so or where the parties were underage but are now the age of consent and the marriage was never contested or a fraud of some sort like the non-dislosure of impotency. A misrepresentation such as the one that you describe does not give rise to having your marriage being deemed invalid. Accordingly, you will ned to file for a divorce.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You need to divorce. A marriage is only invalid if it could not be entered into when it was entered into: e.g. if she was still married to someone else when she tried to marry you; if she or you were under the age of consent; if she or you were not mentally competent when you married. But a lie about her past, while it would support divorce, does not invalidate the marriage or make it legally impossible.
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