Overview of the Marriage Laws in Alabama
Alabama, like many other states, regulates the laws concerning the consent to marriage. Marriage is considered a unique contract under the state’s civil law. While couples are still charged with the responsibility of entering into a legally binding agreement, they are not subjected to the same restraints as formal contracts.
Every state maintains its own body of laws governing the making of marriage. Generally speaking, almost all states recognize at least some degree of common law marriages, even though reforms have done away with this practice in most states. Alabama is not one of the states that recognize a common law marriage, and as a result, almost all couples face a judicial examination in order to be legally wed.
Age , license issuance, and time restrictions fall under the marital jurisdiction of the State of Alabama. A legal requirement for obtaining a marriage license in Alabama is that the applicant be at least 18 years of age, although a waiver may be granted in certain instances, such as when the parental consent of one or both spouses is provided to the court. Judicial permission may be needed in some counties. An application for a marriage license may be filled out by either the groom or the bride. In 2006, Alabama passed a law to prevent the issuance of licenses to repeat offenders. Having two previous marriages dissolving may cause an applicant to be denied a license unless the divorce was finalized at least 90 days before the application is made.
Alabama’s Laws Prohibiting Sibling Marriages
According to Alabama law, "A first cousin or any ancestor or descendent of either … a half-brother or half-sister … a stepaunt, stepuncle …" are prohibited from marrying. Though not as commonly seen as an incestuous marriage involving a first cousin is one involving a half-brother or half-sister, these forms of union have the same legal implications in Alabama. Obviously, a brother or sister who has the same mom and dad are considered off limits as well.
In fact, it is illegal for a person of any age to marry their birth sibling, regardless of whether or not blood relations are required. Even a first cousin once removed, or a first cousin of your parent, is considered illegal if they are full relations. This law also applies to those in situations of half-marriage: i.e. when only one party is a blood relative of people who have the same parents. Again, these regulations apply to both children and adults.
Alabama law does not require a couple to prove that they are not married to direct relatives. Only civil servants and clergy of certain religions are qualified to perform these ceremonies. This is not unusual and is meant to protect agencies and organizations from committing sins against their faith and against the law of the state.
Alabama’s Consequences for Forbidding Marriages
For individuals who somehow enter into an illegal marriage in Alabama, seeking annulment is the first step toward correcting the situation. In most cases of prohibited or illegal marriages, such as that of a broad child and direct descendant or between full or half siblings, annulment of the marriage must be pursued immediately once the parties become aware that the union is illegal.
If the annulment is not sought prior to the end of the first cohabitation following the marriage, the parties will be presumed to be lawfully married, notwithstanding the otherwise incestuous relationship. For that reason, family law attorneys in Hoover, Alabama, recommend moving quickly to establish that the marriage was to be annulled so as to preempt significant penalties for incest.
It is important to understand that in Alabama just entering into a prohibited marriage is itself a crime. Under Section 13A-13-3 of the Code of Alabama 1975, going through a marriage ceremony or living together as husband and wife with another person, not one’s lawful spouse, is a Class A misdemeanor. This includes same sex relationships, while at the same time allowing for bigamy and incestuous relationships based on blood lines.
When such a prohibited relationship is discovered by the State of Alabama, the state has the right to intervene and put an end the incestuous action by annulment. This action is known as a decree of nullity. To the extent that a family law attorney from Leeds, Alabama, represents a party in an incestuous marriage where the other party has not sought to annul the union, then the annulment action may be filed by the state itself with direction to the divorce court judge overseeing the dissolution of the unlawful relationship.
Relevant Exceptions to the Rules
Given the nature of the question of whether siblings can marry, it seems reasonable to ask if there are exceptions or special circumstances in which such a marriage may in fact be legally permissible. According to Alabama Law 13A-13-4, the only exceptions to Alabama’s prohibition on incestuous marriages are marriages between first cousins. Pursuant to Alabama Code 30-1-5 it is implied that other exceptions do not exist.
Despite the seeming impossibility of siblings being legally married in Alabama, instances have arisen which attempted to address this situation. In Eugene Lim v. The State, 805 So.2d 776 (Ala.Crim.App.2000), Defendant Eugene Lim appealed from the circuit court’s denial of his motion to dismiss an indictment which charged him with incestuous marriage to his biological sister (i . e. step-sister). In Lim, the court stated, "It was Lim’s argument that the statute under which he was prosecuted, § 13A-13-4, is unconstitutional as applied to him because he was entitled, under state common law, to marry his half-sister." Lim asserted that he was raised by his half-sister and that they thought they were married in Korea but learned later that their marriage had not been registered in Korea-the common-law marriage was valid under Alabama law. Thus, Lim argued that he was not prohibited from marrying his half-sister. The State argued that Lim’s factual assertions were not properly supported by the record. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama agreed with the State. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama affirmed the circuit court’s judgment.
Alabama’s Laws Compared to Those of Other States
While Alabama’s laws regarding sibling marriages are relatively restrictive, other states have similar but often less prohibitive rules. In Louisiana, for example, any person who is "ascendant" (ancestor) or "descendant" (descendant, such as child, grandchild, great-grandchild) of an individual cannot marry that individual, as prescribed by Louisiana Revised Statute Title 9 §73. As such, cousins, aunts, uncles, and nephews and nieces are prohibited from marrying each other in Louisiana. This law is similar to Alabama’s prohibition against marriages between half-siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, parents, uncles, and nieces and nephews.
Siblings are permitted to marry in all 50 states, in some form. That is, all jurisdictions permit first cousins to marry each other, while some jurisdictions prohibit marriages between half-siblings and full siblings.
A summary of Alabama’s laws regarding sibling marriages, compared with other states, is as follows: In some states, laws on marriages between relatives prohibit both half and full siblings, while other states allow one but not the other. As previously noted, a half-sibling is defined as one who shares one biological parent with another. A full sibling is one who shares both a biological parent with another.
In Texas, a man may not marry his half-sister or a woman may not marry her half-brother as prescribed by Texas Health and Safety Code § 781.005. Likewise, according to Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 207, section 2, a man may not marry his sister or a woman may not marry her brother.
Among those states that permit half-siblings to marry, only a handful permit marriage between them and full siblings. For instance, in California, both half-siblings and full siblings may marry as prescribed by California Family Code § 2200. According to Wisconsin Statute 765.03, a man may not marry his half-sister or a woman may not marry her half-brother. Similarly, Iowa Code § 595.2 prohibits the marriages of half-siblings.
Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Iowa have laws that prevent half-siblings from marrying but allow full siblings to marry.
In comparison with other countries, Alabama’s laws prohibiting sibling marriages are also among the least restrictive. In most of Europe, such as Germany, France, and Sweden, full and half-siblings are allowed to marry because laws there neither prohibit nor prohibit such marriages. In some countries, while both half- and full-siblings are allowed to marry, there are stricter laws regarding inbreeding among these couples. The law in the Netherlands states that a couple convicted of incestuous relations can face up to six years’ prison time, as codified in Dutch law-Article 285 of the Dutch Penal Code. Siblings in Germany can legally marry, but under German law, if they engage in sexual relations with their half or full sibling, they may be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to three years’ imprisonment under "§ 173. Inbreeding," explained a law specialist in German international divorce and family law. Full and half-siblings are permitted to marry in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Jamaica.
Seeking Advice and Assistance
If you are considering marriage in Alabama and are seeking legal advice on the nuances and idiosyncrasies that will surround your new life, the requirement that you go speak with legal counsel is not a bad thing. At least not from my standpoint! Anytime a person takes the time to consult with legal counsel concerning his or her rights, it is a good and healthy thing. And, if you are intending to have a wedding ceremony with a relative that the State of Alabama could have a problem with, this isn’t something to try and ‘wing it’ and hope for the best.
Besides the possibility of your marriage being voided by the State, there are other problems that could arise from not having legal counsel advise you on these matters. For example , the laws concerning marriages involving first cousins have changed in the past several years. While you can marry your first cousin, second cousin and even your third cousin, after you get that far it starts to get a little too "Wacin’ the Beav’" for me.
If you are thinking about marrying someone who you may have blood relation to and are thinking it may not be a problem, don’t just go do it. Go seek legal counsel because if there are any problems with the marriage afterwards, and the State has voided it, or sees fit to annul it, it may not be easy to remedy. If this confuses you, go speak with legal counsel. In fact, I strongly suggest that you do it before you go get married so that you know ahead of time exactly what you are getting yourself into.