Dear Auntie Kate:
My cousin and I have been involved for two years.  We would like to get married.  We live in Minnesota--it  is not permitted here to marry your first cousin.  We have looked  at Wisconsin and Massachusetts as possible places to get  married,as it would be legal for us in those states.  The problem  we encountered in both cases is that those states have a law  stating that: "No marriage shall be contracted in this state by a party residing and intending to continue to reside in another jurisdiction if such marriage would be void if contracted in such other jurisdiction, and every marriage contracted in this state  in violation hereof shall be null and void."  I tried to look up  some of the other states on the internet to try and find one that  does not have a condition like this.  But I am having a lot of  difficulty tracking down the state statutes on the internet. I've  spent hours and only managed to get through these first two states and am incredibly discouraged!

I am wondering if you already have this information at the ready?  I did look up your info about what states allow 1st  cousin marriage; it matched what I have, but does not say whether  or which states will allow a non-resident to marry and recognize  the marriage if their home state does not allow/recognize the marriage.

I also am interested in knowing whether we could get married in  Ireland (legally), and have it recognized in both Ireland, and  Minnesota.  How complicated is an out-of-country marriage?

Name: Mary Skillings

Dear Mary,

My goodness, how thorough you have been!

I suspect dear, that such regulations are mostly intended for divorcee's who just can't wait for the knot to be untied before tying another one. However, you might want to think about making a call to a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, or the Registrar's office in Ireland.

There is a little useful information at <http://www.weddingdreams.com/Marrinfo.htm>, including the number of the registrar there.  He or she should give you an answer to your question.

Also, a little leprechaun Aunt Kate that you might find some useful information on <http://www.sehb.ie/foinformation/section16/centralserv/section10.html>.

The Irish are quite catholic, and do have a prohibition against marriages of certain blood relatives and relations.  You may want to call them and ask if you meet their eligibility criteria.  Kate notes that they also have provisions for exceptions to various rules, so you might want to ask about that too.

Dear, I do love a wedding and had nothing to do this afternoon but poke around the library and research for you!

I always do advise young lovebirds to ask their lawyer for answers to the technical questions.  Particularly when immigration, divorce, marital property or custody of children is involved. It is so important to get the formalities right!

Best luck Mary dear!

Would you pass your information back to KC when you finalize your arrangements? It would be nice for him to add to his web site.
 

Your

Aunt Kate

PS, a note from the technical editor:

Hi Mary. The information you are looking for is at your public library. Its a reference book that list each states marriage laws. Sorry I do not have the title, but look in the reference section. You may also order the book, "Americas Sex Laws" from the MISC. section of my site. I will try to find that reference book and make it available to order from my site as well.

Don't get discouraged  -- no one goes to Wisconsin or Massachusetts to get married anyway.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

KC
 


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