A void marriage is a marriage which is unlawful or invalid under the laws of the jurisdiction where it is entered. A void marriage is "one that is void and invalid from its beginning. It is as though the marriage never existed and it requires no formality to terminate."
Most jurisdictions recognise the validity of marriages performed in another jurisiction. However, a jurisdiction where the parties to the marriage normally reside (and where recognition of the marriage has significant implications) may not recognise a "foreign" marriage and may declare it void - for example, a same-sex marriage, a group marriage and in some cases a polygamous marriage.
A marriage, however, which can be canceled at the option of one of the parties is merely voidable, meaning it is subject to cancellation if contested in court. A marriage that is entered into in good faith, but which is subsequently found to be void, may be recognized as a putative marriage and the spouses as putative spouses, with certain rights granted by statute or common law, notwithstanding that the marriage itself is void.
Read more about Void Marriage: Generally, New York Law, U.K. Law
Famous quotes containing the words void and/or marriage:
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—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“Yes, marriage is hateful, detestable. A kind of ineffable, sickening disgust seizes my mind when I think of this most despotic, most unrequited fetter which prejudice has forged to confine its energies.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)