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Q: Is my marriage legal if I signed for the pastor with tunnel vision in Arkansas?
Is my marriage legal if it was conducted in the pastor's home, and the pastor couldn't sign due to tunnel vision, so I signed on his behalf? There were no witnesses, and the groom didn’t say anything during the ceremony. No follow-up steps were taken to validate the legality of the marriage.
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James L. Arrasmith
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A:
For a marriage to be legally valid in Arkansas, certain requirements must be met. These include having a valid marriage license, a ceremony performed by someone authorized to solemnize marriages, and proper completion and return of the marriage certificate. Signing for the officiant yourself, especially without witnesses present, raises serious concerns about whether those legal requirements were satisfied.
If the groom did not say anything during the ceremony and there were no witnesses, it further weakens the validity of the marriage. Consent from both parties is required, and the officiant is supposed to complete the paperwork, not a participant. Without proper signatures and filing, the state may not even recognize the marriage as having taken place.
You can check with the county clerk where the license was issued to see if the marriage certificate was ever filed. If it was not, the marriage is likely not legally recognized. If you and your partner still want to be legally married, you may need to go through a proper ceremony again with all legal requirements fulfilled.
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