Also known as: certificates of marriage · marriage certificate · marriage certificates
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A form issued by a marriage license clerk to prospective spouses who have completed and signed a marriage application and paid the required fee. The form records the marriage after solemnization and is returned to the clerk for registration.
Chloe Chen and Curtis Cannon completed and signed the marriage application at the county office. Chloe appeared before the clerk and paid the fee. The clerk issued the license along with the certificate of marriage form for use after the ceremony.
Cassandra Cooper and Connor Clark exchanged vows before a judge. The judge filled out the certificate of marriage form with the required details and forwarded it to the clerk. The clerk then registered the marriage in the official records.
Alicia Erickson, the daughter of decedent Ronald K. Erickson, appealed from a trial court judgment that affirmed the Probate Court’s decree admitting her father’s will to probate in favor of defendant Dorothy Erickson, the executrix of the estate. On September 1, 1988, the decedent executed a will while unmarried and the father of three daughters. Two days later, on September 3, 1988, he married the defendant. He died on February 22, 1996. The will named the defendant as executrix and guardian of the decedent’s daughters and included among its beneficiaries the defendant’s four children—Thomas Mehring, Christopher Mehring, Maureen Mehring, and Kathleen Mehring—whose identities the trial court admitted into evidence. The plaintiff filed a motion in limine before trial seeking to limit proof to the will, the marriage certificate, and the death certificate. The defendant responded with a detailed offer of proof concerning the decedent’s intent and his communications with his attorney. The trial court granted the motion in limine as to most extrinsic evidence of intent but denied it regarding the beneficiaries’ identities. It then concluded after a de novo hearing that the will’s provisions and the two-day interval between execution and marriage supplied clear and convincing evidence that the instrument accounted for the contingency of marriage. The plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Court, which transferred the case to the Supreme Court pursuant to Practice Book § 4023 and General Statutes § 51-199 (c). The defendant cross-appealed the evidentiary ruling excluding the balance of her proffered proof.
View caseCorinne Cho presented a certified copy of the certificate of marriage to establish her status as a surviving spouse. The document had been properly completed by the officiant and registered with the vital records office after the ceremony.
Miguel Braschi resided with Leslie Blanchard in a rent-controlled apartment at 405 East 54th Street from the summer of 1975 until Blanchard's death in September 1986. Stahl Associates Company owned the apartment building. In November 1986, Stahl Associates served Braschi with a notice to cure, claiming he was a mere licensee with no right to occupy the apartment because only Blanchard was the tenant of record. In December 1986, Stahl Associates served a notice to terminate, giving Braschi one month to vacate. Braschi initiated an action for a permanent injunction and a declaration of his entitlement to occupy the apartment. He moved for a preliminary injunction. The Supreme Court found that the long-term interdependent nature of the ten-year relationship fulfilled the definitional criteria of family and issued the preliminary injunction. The Appellate Division reversed, holding that the regulation protects only family members within traditional, legally recognized familial relationships. Braschi appealed. The two men had lived together as permanent life partners for more than ten years. They regarded one another as spouses, their families were aware of the relationship, and they attended family functions together. Braschi listed the apartment as his address on his driver's license and passport. They shared all financial obligations, maintained joint checking and savings accounts, and Blanchard executed a power of attorney in Braschi's favor and named him beneficiary of his life insurance policy and primary legatee of his estate.
View caseAfter the wedding, Alice and Bob obtained a certified copy of their completed certificate of marriage from the clerk. They used the document to prove their marital status when applying for joint health insurance coverage.
Diana and Edward received their certificate of marriage back from the clerk after registration. They relied on the official document to establish their legal marriage when updating government records.
Both parties must complete and sign a marriage application. At least one party must appear before the clerk and pay the license fee. The clerk then issues the license and the certificate form.
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The person who solemnizes the marriage or one of the parties completes the form and forwards it to the clerk for registration.
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No. A facially valid unstayed divorce decree supplies satisfactory proof that a prior marriage has ended. The clerk must issue the license and certificate form even while an appeal remains pending.
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…physician who can prescribe for married patients does not have sufficient skill to protect the health of patients who lack a marriage certificate, or who may be currently divorced, it is illogical to the point of irrationality." 429 F. 2d, at 1401. Furthermore, we must join the Court of Appeals in noting that not all…