Divorce Attorney Explanation: Impediments to Marriage in Louisiana

Marriage is supposed to be a pretty straightforward deal.  If two people love each other, they can get married.  Doing so is a very significant and important step towards the creation of a family and a fruitful and productive life.  Despite the best intentions of the couple, here in Louisiana there are a few requirements from a divorce attorney which need to be met, or else the marriage will not be considered bona fide.
For one thing, neither of the couples can be already married.  This might seem like a no-brainer, but it happens.  Let’s say that Chuck gets married to Suzy in the French Quarter thirty years ago.  About two weeks after their “marriage” they break it off and cease speaking entirely.  Now, thirty years later Chuck figures (without speaking with a divorce attorney) enough time has passed and he can get married to his new girlfriend Sandy.  But Suzy catches wind of Chuck’s marriage plans, and digs up the marriage certificate.  If Chuck wants to marry Sandy, he is going to need to take care of his marriage to Suzy first.
Another bar to marriage in Louisiana is in the instance of same sex or gay couples.  This is a very controversial issue right now in the United States, and it is really something that varies on a state to state basis.  As of now there are a handful of states which do recognize same sex marriages, but Louisiana is not one of them.
Yet another impediment to marriage is if two family members are looking to tie the knot.  Louisiana Civil Code article 90 explains that “ascendants and descendants” are not allowed to be married.  This basically means that people connected in the vertical chain of parents and children cannot be married e.g. a grandmother cannot marry her grandson.  The same is true for cousins, or “collaterals” that are related by the fourth degree or less.  Interestingly, even adopted family members are considered barred from marrying family members in the manners explained above.
As far as the requirements to an actual marriage, as opposed to impediments, there must be a marriage ceremony.  That ceremony must be conducted by an individual who is qualified, or at least reasonably believed by the couple to be qualified, to conduct a marriage.  Also, both husband and wife must be present at the ceremony.  A divorce attorney may point to the requirements in Louisiana Civil Code article 91.  Finally, there must not be any “vices of consent” during the marriage ceremony.  This simply means that the oaths an affirmations given by the couple cannot be made under duress, or under coercive threats of any kind.
Generally, if you can avoid the above pitfalls, you can be married in Louisiana.  Marriage confers many special rights and responsibilities to the parties involved, including both real and property rights.  There are instances where some of these rights may be bestowed despite the existence of a defect like one listed above.  A divorce attorney might see this happen sometimes in the instance of a pre-existing marriage that the other spouse was unaware of.
Will Beaumont practices law in New Orleans.  The above is just information and not legal advice.