Q: if a Utah marriage certificate was signed under duress and did not have an actual 2nd witness, is it a binding contract?
A:
What is more important than the certificate is how long you have been married. Clerks make errors on certificates all the time, but that does not automatically void them. Similarly, who signs the certificate and when are not normally a problem.
Your question sounds like you may feel forced into a marriage, which can be corrected no matter how valid the marriage is. I highly recommend you speak with someone professional about your situation, like a counselor or even a divorce attorney to discuss the details.
If an error were made on your certificate, but you presented yourselves to others as being married for many years, then a court will likely find that you have been married.
Marriage certificates are not contracts. Marriage has laws that control how it can be created and how it can end, and how assets of the marriage must be divided, but there is no way to "enforce" a marriage like you might enforce a contract.
It sounds like you may have been fed some misinformation. Don't stop there. Please get advice from a professional after explaining your details.
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