Was I ever married in North Carolina?

[Zigner]

You don't ever get your past address and current address confused? Or your old telephone number with your new one? Must be nice!

I've got a pretty good handle on where I've lived since 2020

 

[Mcluvin]

I've got a pretty good handle on where I've lived since 2020

I usually have a point when I talk so

 

[Zigner]

I usually have a point when I talk so

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm sorry, I have another question as well: could he contest and say that we actually did have a marriage, whether or not it would be ruled in his favor?

Generally, the person claiming that there was a marriage would have the burden of submitting evidence (not just sayso) of that marriage.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Contact the NC Vital Records for a search to see if a certificate is on record.

NCDHHS: DPH: NC Vital Records: Contact Us

And the county to see if a license was ever issued.

buncombecounty.org/Governing/Depts/register-of-deeds/

After you do as Jack suggests, if the records the county has indicates that you are married then you may need to seek an annulment or similar court order that shows the marriage does not exist.

 

[Mcluvin]

Generally, the person claiming that there was a marriage would have the burden of submitting evidence (not just sayso) of that marriage.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[not2cleverRed]

You don't ever get your past address and current address confused? Or your old telephone number with your new one? Must be nice!

No. Most people can keep track of what states they have lived and when.

Perhaps you should consider a medical evaluation and basic cognition test. You could have an undiagnosed medical condition further muddling your situation.

 

[Zigner]

After you do as Jack suggests, if the records the county has indicates that you are married then you may need to seek an annulment or similar court order that shows the marriage does not exist.

Why? If they do show as married, the OP and the spouse lived together after getting married...presumably with all the normal marital rights and responsibilities. I don't believe there's anything that's been presented that would allow for a claim of annulment.

Of course, I don't think they're married in the first place...

 

[Taxing Matters]

Of course, I don't think they're married in the first place...

Because if the records show they were married when, in fact, they didn't meet the requirements for the marriage, then they need to fix that problem, assuming they don't want to be married. There are two ways to do that: divorce or annullment. If the OP wants to return to more or less the situation he was before he/she ended up being shown as married in the public records then typically annullment (or similar process) is the better way to go.

 

[zddoodah]

I eloped in early 2020 in Asheville, NC. There was no marriage license. The person who performed the ceremony was an "ordained online minster." I believe it was by "United Life Church."

I did a couple of Google searches. Both indicate a marriage without a license is not valid in North Carolina. Some of the language seemed equivocal, so I'd suggest some case law research about whether a marriage that otherwise met all the requirements is valid despite the lack of a license. However, I also found one search result that said, "Marriages performed by ministers of Universal Life Church after July 3, 1981 are not valid marriages." I question the constitutionality of that.

I want to make sure that I'm not married before I date again.

The only way to have certainty is to confer with a North Carolina attorney.

I'm sorry, I have another question as well: could he contest and say that we actually did have a marriage, whether or not it would be ruled in his favor?

Of course. Did you really suppose there might be some impediment to making an argument (even if that argument ultimately isn't successful)?

You don't ever get your past address and current address confused?

No, and I certainly have never been confused about my state of residence.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the laws on marriage in North Carolina:

https://www.ncleg.gov/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_51.html