Legal status of married minor

[dantheman88]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

Hi, I was wondering - when a minor (16 yr old in this case) is married (to an 18 yr old in this case), do the parents of the 16 yr old maintain custody, legal rights, etc? Could the parents force a divorce or annulment? Would the 16 yr old, while still married, have the rights of a legal adult/emancipated child? Thanks in advance!

[justalayman]

§ 16.1-333. Findings necessary to order that minor is emancipated.

The court may enter an order declaring the minor emancipated if, after a hearing, it is found that: (i) the minor has entered into a valid marriage, whether or not that marriage has been terminated by dissolution;

§ 16.1-334. Effects of order.

An order that a minor is emancipated shall have the following effects:

1. The minor may consent to medical, dental, or psychiatric care, without parental consent, knowledge, or liability;

2. The minor may enter into a binding contract or execute a will;

3. The minor may sue and be sued in his own name;

4. The minor shall be entitled to his own earnings and shall be free of control by his parents or guardian;

5. The minor may establish his own residence;

6. The minor may buy and sell real property;

7. The minor may not thereafter be the subject of a petition under this chapter as abused, neglected, abandoned, in need of services, in need of supervision, or in violation of a juvenile curfew ordinance enacted by a local governing body;

8. The minor may enroll in any school or college, without parental consent;

9. The minor may secure a driver's license under § 46.2-334 or § 46.2-335 without parental consent;

10. The parents of the minor shall no longer be the guardians of the minor;

11. The parents of a minor shall be relieved of any obligations respecting his school attendance under Article 1 (§ 22.1-254 et seq.) of Chapter 14 of Title 22.1;

12. The parents shall be relieved of all obligation to support the minor;

13. The minor shall be emancipated for the purposes of parental liability for his acts;

14. The minor may execute releases in his own name;

15. The minor may not have a guardian ad litem appointed for him pursuant to any statute solely because he is under age eighteen; and

16. The minor may marry without parental, judicial, or other consent.

The acts done when such order is or is purported to be in effect shall be valid notwithstanding any subsequent action terminating such order or a judicial determination that the order was void ab initio.

answer all your questions?

[tigger22472]

Originally Posted by dantheman88

What is the name of your state? Virginia

Hi, I was wondering - when a minor (16 yr old in this case) is married (to an 18 yr old in this case), do the parents of the 16 yr old maintain custody, legal rights, etc? Could the parents force a divorce or annulment? Would the 16 yr old, while still married, have the rights of a legal adult/emancipated child? Thanks in advance!

Unless the 16 year old (if this is the girl) was pregnant then parental consent was needed for the marriage to happen in the first place to make it valid. Did this happen?

[dantheman88]

For the most part, this is hypothetical and I'm curious as to whether it's legal (I think it is). I know some people that might try to make this happen, but I'd be very surprised if they did - mostly I'm just interested in this type of stuff.

In Virginia, you need parental consent to be married under the age of 18. In Mississippi, however, you don't need parental consent unless the male is under 17 or the female is under 15:

(of Mississippi law)

§ 93-1-5. Conditions precedent to issuance of license; penalty for noncompliance.

(d) The clerk shall not issue a marriage license under the provisions of this section unless the male applicant is at least seventeen (17) years of age, and the female is at least fifteen (15) years of age; provided, however, that if satisfactory proof is furnished to the judge of any circuit, chancery or county court that sufficient reasons exist and that said parties desire to be married to each other and that the parents or other person in loco parentis of the person or persons so under age consent thereto, then the judge of any such court in the county where either of such parties resides may waive the minimum age requirement and by written instrument authorize the clerk of the court to issue the marriage license to the parties if they are otherwise qualified by law. Authorization shall be a part of the confidential files of the clerk of the court, subject to inspection only by written permission of the judge.

In Virginia, there is a law specifying the prohibition of leaving the state to marry and return to avoid marital prohibitions in Virginia:

§ 20-40. Punishment for violation of such prohibition; leaving Commonwealth to avoid.

If any person marry in violation of § 20-38.1 he shall be confined in jail not exceeding six months, or fined not exceeding $500, in the discretion of the jury. If any persons, resident in this Commonwealth, and within the degrees of relationship mentioned in that section, shall go out of this Commonwealth for the purpose of being married, and with the intention of returning, and be married out of it, and afterwards return to and reside in it, cohabiting as man and wife, they shall be punished as provided in this section, and the marriage shall be governed by the same law as if it had been solemnized in this Commonwealth. The fact of such cohabitation here shall be evidence of such marriage. Venue for a violation of this section may be in the county or city where the subsequent marriage occurred or where the parties to the subsequent marriage cohabited.

However, § 20-38.1 (the law specified above) prohibits incest and polygamy:

§ 20-38.1. Certain marriages prohibited.

(a) The following marriages are prohibited:
(1) A marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties;
(2) A marriage between an ancestor and descendant, or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption;
(3) A marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood.
(b) [Repealed.]

The age restriction is in § 20-48:

§ 20-48. Minimum age of marriage with consent of parents.

The minimum age at which persons may marry, with consent of the parent or guardian, shall be sixteen.

Leaving the state to marry in another state and returning to Virginia to bypass the age restriction is therefore not prohibited by § 20-40.

If both parties are willing to enter marriage, could this then be a sort of roundabout method of achieving emancipation?