Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
legal marriage
We are both US citizen civilians working for the US Army who were married in Denmark in 1982 through a package offered by the Information Tours and Travel office on post. We have a 21 year old daughter born in an Army Hospital in Nuernberg, Germany. She is still in school, she has a SSN and US passport. We have not been a resident of the US. My husband's home of record is North Carolina and the last place I was registered to vote and held a drivers license was Texas.
Question: when we relocate back to the states (we are discussing Washington state) are we considered legally married?
Thank you
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: legal marriage
The laws on marriage are diferent for each state. However, every state must recognize your marriage under the constitution of the United States ("full faith and credit") and a treaty between the US and Denmark.
Please give this no further worry - your marriage is 100% legal in every state in the United States.
Curiously, it is legal in Israel even if you are Jewish but it may not be legal in several Arab nations (Iran).
Re: legal marriage
Common sense tells one that a foreign marriage would be recognized in this country. However, RCW 26.04.020(3) states "A marriage between two persons that is recognized as valid in another jurisdiction is valid in this state . . ." See http://www.leg.wa.gov/RCW/index.cfm?fuseaction=section§ion=26.04.020.
It appears that the term jurisdiction would include another country.
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