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Is the marriage between first cousins legal in the states of Florida and Georgia?

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concernedperson

Guest
Is the marriage between first cousins legal in the states of Florida and Georgia?
 
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JETX

Senior Member
Florida
"741.21 Incestuous marriages prohibited.--A man may not marry any woman to whom he is related by lineal consanguinity, nor his sister, nor his aunt, nor his niece. A woman may not marry any man to whom she is related by lineal consanguinity, nor her brother, nor her uncle, nor her nephew.


Georgia:
19-3-3 G ***
(a) Any person who marries a person to whom he knows he is related, either by blood or by marriage, as follows:
(1) Father and daughter or stepdaughter;
(2) Mother and son or stepson;
(3) Brother and sister of the whole blood or the half blood;
(4) Grandparent and grandchild;
(5) Aunt and nephew; or
(6) Uncle and niece shall be punished
by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than three years.
(b) Marriages declared to be unlawful under subsection (a) of this Code section shall be void from their inception.
 
C

concernedperson

Guest
Does first cousins are considered a lineal consanguinity relationship?:confused:
 

Whyte Noise

Senior Member
Maybe I can help since I'm from Georgia .....

*clears throat* Ahem....

Yup, ya'll shore kan marrie first cuzins in Jawja. An' yuh kan in Flordey two. But, if is was me, I'd jest up an' move da homestead to Kentucky. First cuzins kant get married there, but you'uns KAN have relations. Aint dat whut it's all 'bout enyhow?

Gawd, don't you love it when the myth is just perpetuated even further by questions like this? I'm suddenly having the urge to put on my 45 of "Dueling Banjos".... :eek:
 
C

concernedperson

Guest
don't get me wrong... a question about custody

The reason for my question (pardon my ignorance on the subject) is because my "wife" or domestic patner ( we were never married) of 10 years and the mother of my two children( they bear my name in the BC), had an affair with her first cousin that terminated our relationship. She promised me that that was the end of it but I discovered later on they were seen each other intimately. Where we come from ( I am Puertorican and she is half American, half Puertorican) that is illegal and more than that, extremely immoral. First Cousins are considered like siblings, hence the indicative "primos hermanos", "cousins siblings" literally translated. They are considered to be related by blood....
Now she was thinking of moving to Georgia where the cousin lives. I do not really want my children to be exposed to this person or relationship that I perceive as sick and incestous. This person, in my perspective, sent a email to her to my email address to somehow create havoc on the relationship and then have the coast clear to do more harm. He later dumped her, but they still talking.... The children and the maother lived with me until 9 months ago. We have shared custody of the children after that and the child support has not been through any agency. It has been informal. She had never worked but had some savings from her mom's insurance that I never had control over when she had total access to my money. She have now moved to the Florida Panhandle where her family lives. I live in So. Florida. 7 hour drive. My question is: Does the nature of the affair would have some weight in the pursuit of custody? I have told her that if she had anything to do with that guy I would fight for the full custody.

For the record: the cousin is from the American side of her family....

Thanks.:eek:
 
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B

Boxcarbill

Guest
Re: don't get me wrong... a question about custody

concernedperson said:
My question is: Does the nature of the affair would have some weight in the pursuit of custody? I have told her that if she had anything to do with that guy I would fight for the full custody.

Thanks.:eek:
Since it is legal for first cousins to marry both in Georgia and in Florida (Texas too for that matter) it has no bearing on anything. An affairs goes to the husband/wife relationship not to the parent/child relationship. People on a regular basis want to use an affair as a basis to prove the parent unfit. A person may be unfaithful spouse and nevertheless be a good parent. Like I said, sexual relationships go to the husband/wife relationship not the parent/child relationship unless the sexual intercourse occurs in the presence of the child. Since you two never married but lived together, your relationship is not husband and wife-- unless you happened to live in one of the few states which still recognizes common law marriage and your relationship fits within the statutory definition for an informal marriage. Your moral outrage is likely to have little to no impact in a custody decision.
 
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concernedperson

Guest
Puerto Rico (U.S. Territory)

We lived in Puerto Rico for 5 years, where I believed there is commom law marriage. My first child was born there, if that make any difference.
 
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Boxcarbill

Guest
Re: Puerto Rico (U.S. Territory)

concernedperson said:
We lived in Puerto Rico for 5 years, where I believed there is commom law marriage. My first child was born there, if that make any difference.
It doesn 't for our purposes. A state which does not recognize informal unions will not recognize the informal union of another state as they do a formal marriage from another state. Like I said, even if there were a marriage so that her affair with the cousin would be adultry, adultry goes to the husband/wife relationship not to the parent/child relationship. A spouse or domestic partner may be an unfaithful spouse (or partner ) and, nevertheless, be a good parent.
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
Re: Re: Puerto Rico (U.S. Territory)

Boxcarbill said:



"A state which does not recognize informal unions will not recognize the informal union of another state as they do a formal marriage from another state."


My response:

You had me interested and intrigued with your answers and "style" until I almost choked on your above statement - - to which I respond, "What are you talking about?"

Are you joking, or what? Ever heard of the legal doctrine of "comity"?

As you may know, California is NOT a "common law" marriage State. However, a "common law marriage" (marriage predicated solely on consent and cohabitation without license and solemnization) entered into in a jurisdiction that validates same will be recognized for all purposes in California. [Tatum v. Tatum (9th Cir. 1957) 241 F.2d 401, 407; Colbert v. Colbert (1946) 28 Cal.2d 276, 280, 169 P.2d 633, 635]

It's time for you to take the Bar examination again or, to at least take a marital law seminar.

IAAL
 
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C

concernedperson

Guest
So, where do that leave me?

Will Florida recognize it?

It is a shame that all these years I have had all the responsabilities, economical and moral, provided all the income( she never worked) and now I don't have a say on my babies lives... We were husband and wife in everything(joint accounts, credit cards, even leases) but we never signed a paper that said so. I am still paying for her medical insurance and I have all the debt accumulated all those years...

After all, we still have a good relationship as friends that I am trying to keep in good shape but I need to be prepared for the unexpected.... as you know.

Also, does she needs my consent to take the children out of state?

Thanks for your help...
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
It took me about ten seconds on the Internet to discover that all states are required to recognize a common law marriage IF it was created in a state where they are legal. So if you are correct that Puerto Rico has common law marriages, then Florida will recognize it.

BTW, Georgia will accept as legal, a common law marriage that was created in Georgia before 1/97.
 

LegalBeagle

Senior Member
cbg said:
It took me about ten seconds on the Internet to discover that all states are required to recognize a common law marriage IF it was created in a state where they are legal. So if you are correct that Puerto Rico has common law marriages, then Florida will recognize it.

BTW, Georgia will accept as legal, a common law marriage that was created in Georgia before 1/97.
I did not know Puerto Rico was a state...
 

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