A marriage is both a personal commitment and a legally recognized entity with certain legal rights and responsibilities. As such, societies place requirements and expectations upon couples before they are able to marry. Seattle invalid marriages attorneys are thoroughly familiar with the law of marriage validity and the consequences of those “marriages”.

Certain unions which purport to be marriages are actually invalid marriages under the law. In Seattle, invalid marriages include those occurring between closely related people, legal minors, legally incapacitated persons, and persons already married to someone else. Seattle invalid marriages may be declared invalid instead of dissolved, and a Seattle invalid marriages attorney can explain the difference to you.

A common scenario for Seattle invalid marriages is when a couple marries spontaneously, never lives together, and later wonders whether their marriage is legal. The answer is often, "it depends". A Seattle invalid marriages lawyer or marriages lawyer will want to know more about the case, for instance whether the wedding ceremony was a public gathering, whether a state license was ever issued, or whether the couple intended to be married.

An important distinction that a Seattle invalid marriages attorney can help you with is that between a “void” marriage and a “voidable” marriage. Seattle invalid marriages that are void are those which never were a proper marriage in the first place. Those that are voidable may be terminated by either party, but may continue as a marriage. The legal implications and how they affect your interests is the expertise of a Seattle invalid marriages lawyer, who can listen to your case and help you decide the next step.

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