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:
“Some say existence like a Pirouot
And Pirouette, forever in one place,
Stands still and dances, but it runs away;
It seriously, sadly, runs away
To fill the abyss’s void with emptiness.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“A woman asking “Am I good? Am I satisfied?” is extremely selfish. The less women fuss about themselves, the less they talk to other women, the more they try to please their husbands, the happier the marriage is going to be.”
—Barbara Cartland (b. 1901)