15 engaged to a 19 year old. legal?

[butirfli]

undefinedWhat is the name of your state?florida

hi, my name is bethanie. i am 15 and i live with my fiance seth. i we are getting married in january. my mom loves him to death and has been pushing for it for almost a year. i was wondering about the legalities of the situation? thank you so much.

[Shay-Pari'e]

Originally Posted by butirfli

undefinedWhat is the name of your state?florida

hi, my name is bethanie. i am 15 and i live with my fiance seth. i we are getting married in january. my mom loves him to death and has been pushing for it for almost a year. i was wondering about the legalities of the situation? thank you so much.

Under Florida state law,741.0405


(1) If either of the parties shall be under the age of 18 years but at least 16 years of age, the county court judge or clerk of the circuit court shall issue a license for the marriage of such party only if there is first presented and filed with him or her the written consent of the parents or guardian of such minor to such marriage, acknowledged before some officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments and administer oaths. However, the license shall be issued without parental consent when both parents of such minor are deceased at the time of making application or when such minor has been married previously.

(2) The county court judge of any county in the state may, in the exercise of his or her discretion, issue a license to marry to any male or female under the age of 18 years, upon application of both parties sworn under oath that they are the parents of a child.

(3) When the fact of pregnancy is verified by the written statement of a licensed physician, the county court judge of any county in the state may, in his or her discretion, issue a license to marry:

(a) To any male or female under the age of 18 years upon application of both parties sworn under oath that they are the expectant parents of a child; or

(b) To any female under the age of 18 years and male over the age of 18 years upon the female's application sworn under oath that she is an expectant parent.

(4) No license to marry shall be granted to any person under the age of 16 years, with or without the consent of the parents, except as provided in subsections (2) and (3).

Great Mom you got there.

[rmet4nzkx]

Note the law states that your parents that is your mother & father must sign.

[Gracie3787]

Originally Posted by butirfli

undefinedWhat is the name of your state?florida

hi, my name is bethanie. i am 15 and i live with my fiance seth. i we are getting married in january. my mom loves him to death and has been pushing for it for almost a year. i was wondering about the legalities of the situation? thank you so much.

Bethanie, do you really love your fiance?
This is a TRUE story, it happened here in Florida:
Boy, barely 18 with severe emotional problems began dating 15 year old girl. Boy's parents upset, try to talk him out of it, to no avail.
Girl's parents tell boy's parents to stay out of it,then they let boy move into their home, and SLEEP IN GIRL'S ROOM!
Boy's parents finally convince boy to get his own apt.
Girl's jealous sister skips school one day, breaks into boy's apt. and finds sister and boy in bed then runs out the door . She goes to Police Dept. claims that she was "kidnapped" on way to school, got away and ran to sister's boyfriend's apt. Tells police about sister and boy having sex.
Boy arrested, suddenly girl's parents claim to not know anything.

Boy is now a CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER- is restricted where he can live, both by law and because neighbors burn signs on his lawn, harrass him, threaten him,ect. Now, knowing what can happen to your beloved fiance:

DO YOU STILL WANT TO LIVE WITH HIM ??
If you really love him you will make sure he doesn't go through the same hell FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE that the above mentioned boy has to go through. you can do this by moving out (anywhere else), waiting until you are at least 16 to marry/live together. I agree with other poster- some Mother you have.

[stealth2]

It's rare for me to be speechless, but there aren't words for a mother who would be pushing her 14/15 yo child to marry a 19yo man, let alone allow her to live with him. Talk about an abdication of parental responsibility.

[AHA]

Bethanie, are you pregnant? Is that why you are in such a rush to get married? If you're not, my guess you will be real soon and then you will have totally wasted your youth. Why in god's name do you want to get married so young??? You might feel that this guy is the love of your life(I'm guessing it's your first proper boyfriend), and if he is, he'll be there later on when you both are older and ready for marriage commitment. How do you two even make a living? Don't kids like you two have several years of school left? Realise that US has a divorce rate of 50% and that includes teens as well as "older" couples, who are mature, can support themselves, have known eachother for years, have experienced love before and can understand a "real" relationship not puppy love. Why is your mother so eager for you to get married? What is your dad's opinion on this? Because the fact is, since you are so young, it's all up to your parents to decided what's right for you and what's not. I feel emotionally very very sad for you, if you have a mother that wants you to get married while you're a child, my mother would never have approved of something so crazy. I wish you all the best, but I can't say that I feel hopeful for you two, I'm sorry, just expressing my view on your situation. Take care

[Gracie3787]

butirfli,

I just checked out your public profile, and went to your home page.

This site is for ADULTS, with REAL PROBLEMS, seeking REAL HELP!

This site IS NOT a playground for severly emotionally disturbed teenagers !

I strongly suspect that you are actually a runaway, and your poor mother probably has no idea where you are who your with.

I am sure there are websites that cater to your type of sickness, go to them and leave the serious sites alone.

[Shay-Pari'e]

I just read it also. The girl is in need of mental health intervention, like yesterday.

[Happy Trails]

Originally Posted by --PARIDISE--

I just read it also. The girl is in need of mental health intervention, like yesterday.

**I agree. Her home page is totally disturbing. So where exactly is this literally insane poster really from? Is it Afghanistan, Canada or Florida?

[rmet4nzkx]

I read it also and since she has only posted here one time I am at a loss as to how to refer to help. She participates in several online communities. She appears to be in Orlando Flordia, is 15 and will be 16 next January which is why she wants to get married then. She apparently lives with this 19 year old boy named Seth and posts that she doesn't want to be a housewife but swings from seriously suicidal behavior to elation. By her picture and admissions in her journal, she is a cutter, I suppose we will have to wait for her to return.

Bethanie, if you read this, please call Phone: 407-425-2624 or email: [email]llcf@lifelinecentralflorida.org[/email] for help. You are too young to be going through this alone and marring seth won't change what is hurting you.

[butirfli]

i've been with seth for nearly 2 years. i am not crazy. i don't have a father. my mom has 4 months to live. she knows exactly where i am. i would never put my mother through that. she has too much to worry about without me running of and nit telling her where i'm going. no i am not pregnant. seth is not my first "proper" boyfriend. and i was completely serious when i posted my concerns. i'm sorry you don't view my problem as real.

and as for going to live somewhere else, i don't have anywhere else to go. my mom won't let me live with her anymore, my grandparents won't even talk to me. i don't really have any family or friends that i could stay with. i know seth could get in trouble. thats why i never go out or do anything, he's my last chance and i'm not going to **** this up.

[rmet4nzkx]

Originally Posted by butirfli

i've been with seth for nearly 2 years. i am not crazy. i don't have a father. my mom has 4 months to live. she knows exactly where i am. i would never put my mother through that. she has too much to worry about without me running of and nit telling her where i'm going. no i am not pregnant. seth is not my first "proper" boyfriend. and i was completely serious when i posted my concerns. i'm sorry you don't view my problem as real.

and as for going to live somewhere else, i don't have anywhere else to go. my mom won't let me live with her anymore, my grandparents won't even talk to me. i don't really have any family or friends that i could stay with. i know seth could get in trouble. thats why i never go out or do anything, he's my last chance and i'm not going to **** this up.

Beth,
We are taking you seriously and are very concerned about you and want to try to get you some help. I'm so glad you came back. Please call that number, they can help you connect to resources in your community. 407-425-2624 This is a difficult time for you and your mother and not a time for you to be apart from your family. You should not be in a place where you have to hide and you deserve to have your life. Seth should not be your last resort. He may or may not be the person destined to be your lifemate and I understand you don't want him to get into trouble. Please call that number and get some help, it is confidential, please let us know how you are doing, OK? Again, I'm glad you are back and we do take you seriously.

[Gracie3787]

Bethanie,
I am glad that you are back, and yes, I do take you seriously. I'm sorry that I felt like I needed to come down hard on you in my previous post, I didn't know of any other way to really get your attention, and I was very scared for you.
Please, call that number, there are so many options available to you, please don't limit youself and you will be able to soar like a butirfli.
Please let us know how you are doing.
Gracie

[carofl93]

Bethanie,
I waited to reply to your post until you came back. Everyone here is concerned about you...some of us have looked at your Blog...I know that some of it is venting, but being married is hard work...much harder than simply living with someone. I have been in both spots and there have been times that I wish I had made different choices (not now that I have the responsibility of children). Don't be in a hurry to get married. If your mom doesn't mind your living with Seth, then stay where you're at for now. The thing that worries me the most about your situation is the cutting...I know I will sound just like a mom, but I am one (an 8 yo, a 21 month old and another on the way)...please please please get some sort of help. You can get it anonymously by calling the number that another poster put above this post. I wish you the best of luck with your relationship with Seth...he could truly be "the one" but if you aren't more careful with yourself, you may never find out.

[butirfli]

i haven't done any cutting in almost 2 months. i really don't think i'm rushing into the marriage. seth and i have been together for nearly 2 years. we've had time apart, lived in different states, and we both know that this is what we want. i wouldn't even think about it otherwise. but anyway...thanks for caring. i don't think i'll be calling that number though...there isn't a thing they could do for me.