Doing marriages without a license?

This may seem like a dumb question but is there any legal liability on my part for performing marriages in SL? As far as I know they are not legally binding in RL, I can't imagine you would need a license to perform them?

I can't imagine the headache if you did since you would need to be licensed in the state where.................you live, they live, SL is located.... foreign country?

Can you imagine how scary SL would be if SL marriages became legally binding IRL?

boy oh boy i know a few people who would have a lotta 'splainin to do....

No - SL marriages are not real marriages in the legal sense so there is no liability. I can't imagine a US court trying to enforce any sort of marital commitment or any state licensure requirement in SL.

ok so what if the SLarriage, is preformed by a licensed minister or judge?.....even if its a virtual one?

(wishes she went to law school now cause this is a WHOLE new avenue to explore legal wise, kinda, if i was bored)

As always in these things, it'd be the prim babies that suffer most.

oh noes!! not teh primbies!!!!

Way back in the days of general

(obligatory moment of silence)

There was a long thread about this -

Some claimed it would be possible to have a RL legal marriage via SL if there were the proper witnesses, and those licensed to conduct marriages on both ends.

Others said that it would require that the participants all be in the same state, but not the same room.

Others said it was impossible because people had to witness the event in person.


I don't think anyone thought it was a good idea reguardless.

So basically a long thread which came to no definitive conclusion.

------

I wonder if anyone remembers the Mash Episode where Klinger got married over the radio via relayed vows ... and wore a wedding dress.

SL marriage is called PARTNERING...
Been there, done that.
no pre-nup.

Ummm, in most states you have to have a license of that state that is witnessed, signed by witnesses, then by a person performing the marriage....then it must be filed within a certain period of time to the appropriate state assigned governing body for recording and retention. Licenses are state/county/city issued and there is usually a residency requirement to meet if not blood tests or other requirements for a license.

I do.

You basically have two parts to a marriage, the legal part and the emotional/religious part. The latter is the recognition that you get from the community or your circle of friends and family by having the actual wedding ceremony. The former is a matter of obtaining a license and getting the proper signatures. The former doesn't really have any sort of legal significance.

You could perform a marriage in SL that recognized a legal marriage, but the marriage would have to be formalized legally outside of SL in order to be recognized by the state. Usually that means getting a license and having a justice of the peace sign off (judge, licensed minister, etc.) It would be a matter of following whatever procedures the individual state has in place for formalizing marriages. It doesn't matter if one party is in another state. Marriages in one state are recognized in all states.

Basically, the actual ceremony could be performed in SL, but it wouldn't be legally binding unless the couple went through the legal procedures outside of SL.

BTW, Trout, you're hired. We'll be sending you your priest outfit as soon as we can scrape up the lindens to buy an extra one from the shop....we've been sharing one outfit so far hah

What the law defines as a marraige what the people involved define as a maraige are seldom the same. Where there's a will, there's a way. Where there's a lawyer, there's a loophole.

Yes, I do. One of my favorite episodes

Yes, but witnesses in a legal sense. Not that you saw thios happen, but that you can verify that the people want to get married. All the signing could be done through the mail. Just find a state, like Nevada maybe, where the laws are a little more lax and it all good.

Oooo ... here's a cool idea. We could arramge to have Trout preform a wedding cerimony for a couple. Get a big party planned. But when the ceremony starts, we freeze Trout and then tp in Ann. Shotgun wedding Just don't let Trout know what we are up to ....

Sweet! I think I have a freebie reverend outfit (don't ask) that I got from NCI at some point.

So, in keeping with this thread, it looks like I'm available for non-legally binding marriages in SL! Step right up. Line forms to the right.

Um, wouldn't I need to be carrying his prim love child (or children...never know with that Neko heritage) in order for it to be a shotgun wedding?

I'm not, btw.

Our kids would be half neko. Doesn't that make them super heroes when they're exposed to yellow sun or something? Maybe it just makes them more inclined to nap in the sun. It's one of those two things.

edit: Yosef. I'm still getting paid for the wedding, right?

I don't know how much BS is involved but I knew one lady who hired a lawyer because her and her X had quite a business together, he left and dated someone else (*caugh* name withheld *caugh*). She claimed he owed her this and that because they were married and had created this whole business together.

The idiot went back to her and left (*caugh*) but I always thought her whole story was a facade.


Long story short....I can marry people all day long without a license?

That one. Plus, wild hair and a penchant for both flying and shopping...sky mall, anyone?

Hmmm, I wonder how the emotes for a Neko pregnancy would go?

"Mama Neko feels the urge to hunt down a gazelle so she can keep her babies growing strong and healthy."
"Mama Neko is quite certain one of the babies has punctured her bladder with a claw."
"Mama Neko is disturbed to discover she's developed several extra sets of nipples."

Papa is at first delighted with all the extra nipples, but then realizes that he is still only equipped to play with two at a time and falls into a deep depression - likely also caused by the pregnancy emotes which are enough to make most men want to start drinking.

Cunundrum - have at it. Perform all the marriages you want. Or get married all you want. I have a new job in this industry, apparently. I haven't asked yet, but maybe Danielle will let me give out punch cards like at the Starbucks. Get married 5 times and your sixth one is free. Or free slut rating for the bridesmaids. I don't charge for those yet while the rating algorithym is still in beta, but you don't have to tell the bridesmaids that.

LOL, I like the multi-marriage punch card idea. I married some brand spankin new noobs yesterday, it was so cute

Most women too.