Free Summit County Marriage Records

Marriage is something that changes the status of a person, and status is something that would follow the person no matter where he or she may go. It is important to note that status is something that attaches certain rights and responsibilities upon a person, and because status follows the person no matter where he or she may go, these rights and responsibilities would also follow the person. This is the reason why a person who is already married would be prohibited from marrying another person while his first marriage is still in existence. When one takes this into consideration, one can see the importance and the reason why people frequently ask for copies of marriage records like Summit County Marriage Records.

As the official records of the government, these marriage records are the best evidence that one could use in order to prove the existence of the marriage, though one must note that these records could be used for a lot of other purposes such as evidence in order to prove that the marriage is existence in the private realm. Usually, this would be in cases where the spouse is trying to prove the existence of marriage in order to claim some benefits that are due to them under the contracts or other social programs that the other spouse in enrolled in. It could also be used by their children in order to prove that the marriage of their parents is in existence and prove that they are legitimate children.

When one is requesting for copies of marriage records, one must first remember that marriage records fall under the presumption of regularity of business, and this would mean that the information contained within the records would be considered to be accurate at all times. The person who would claim otherwise would have the burden to prove his or her allegation. Note, however, that this presumption applies only to the actual records, and not to the abstract of the records that could be provided at the state level.

The actual copies of marriage records could only be obtained at the local or county level, and the source would be the probate court of the county where the marriage was celebrated. At the state level, the only thing that could be provided for by the Ohio Department of Health would be an abstract that could then be used to help locate the record. Often, these abstracts would be more than enough to prove the existence of the marriage, but they do not fall under the presumption of regularity. To obtain copies of the abstract of the record, the person who desires the record should send an accomplished request form for the same to the department, together with a money order or personal check to answer for the required fee.

Copies of Summit County Marriage License Records may also be located online through the use of online databases. Using these databases would ensure that the person who is searching for the records could find the records in question faster and more efficiently, but would also mean that they could not actually use the records in official proceedings because these online databases are mostly privately owned and do not enjoy the benefits of the presumption.