Can I conduct a marriage ceremony for someone who has not finished the divorce process yet?
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Can I conduct a marriage ceremony for someone who has not finished the divorce process yet?
My friends asked me to officiate their upcoming wedding, but the groom is
currently in the divorce process and has a court date set for a few days after
the wedding to finalize the divorce. They want to go ahead and conduct the
ceremony, since they would lose a lot of money if they postpone or cancel,
and simply not sign the marriage documents or finalize it until after his
divorce is complete. Are there legal ramifications to them or me for doing it
this way?
Asked on April 1, 2016 under Family Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Anyone may have a purely religous or symbolic ceremony at any time--to redo vows; to show committment to someone they are not actually legally marrying at that moment; etc. You can't do anything to legally validate the marriage, and they will have to do that after the divorce is final, but there is no legal reason to not hold the ceremony, if that's what they want.
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