Also known as: valid and subsisting marriages · valid marriage · subsisting marriage
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A marriage that satisfies all statutory and common-law requirements for formation and remains undissolved by death, divorce, or annulment. Capacity, consent, and any required license or solemnization must exist at the time of the ceremony. The marriage must continue as a legally recognized relationship without termination.
Virgil Volpe and Violet Vidal exchanged vows after Virgil consumed several shots of whiskey. Virgil later sought to set aside the marriage on the ground that he lacked capacity. The court examined whether Virgil possessed the mental capacity to understand the ceremony at the exact moment it occurred.
Vincente Vukovic faced criminal charges. Prosecutors subpoenaed his wife Valentina Vasquez to testify about events during their marriage. Valentina invoked the privilege and the court first confirmed that the couple maintained a valid and subsisting marriage at the relevant time.
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Victor Vargas and Vivian Vaughn lived together for three years, used the same last name, and maintained a joint bank account. Victor later denied that any marriage existed. The court checked whether the parties had exchanged consent, cohabited, and held themselves out publicly as spouses.
Vortex Energy employees formed a common law marriage in a state that still recognizes it. One spouse later moved to a state that had abolished common law marriage. The new state court treated the marriage as valid because it had been properly formed under the law of the first state.
Vega Motors workers obtained a marriage license from the county clerk and then participated in a ceremony performed by a judge. One party later challenged the marriage. The court confirmed that both the license and the solemnization by an authorized officiant had occurred before the ceremony.
The parties must possess capacity, exchange consent, and satisfy any required formalities such as a license or solemnization. The marriage must also remain undissolved by death, divorce, or annulment at the time its validity is asserted.
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Yes. If a valid common law marriage is formed under the laws of one state, other states generally recognize it as valid even if they no longer permit new common law marriages.
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A marriage ceases to be subsisting once it has been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment. A spouse may still invoke privileges only while the marriage remains legally intact.
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