Legal Question in Family Law in Wisconsin

marriage laws

I realized i made a mistake, i fell in love with my cousin and i married her. now three years later were going through a nasty divorce. shes playing games and does not want to agree on terms for our children. can i get this anull since were cousin's or would it make my situation worse since its illegal in wisconsin? and i lied on the marrige application and said we werent cousins.


Asked on 11/06/07, 7:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Jeffrey Murrell Law Office of Jeffrey L. Murrell

Re: marriage laws

Wis. Stat. sec. 765.03(1) states in pertienent part as follows:

"(1) No marriage shall be contracted while either of the parties has a husband or wife living, nor between persons who are nearer of kin than 2nd cousins except that marriage may be contracted between first cousins where the female has attained the age of 55 years or where either party, at the time of application for a marriage license, submits an affidavit signed by a physician stating that either party is permanently sterile. Relationship under this section shall be computed by the rule of the civil law, whether the parties to the marriage are of the half or of the whole blood. A marriage may not be contracted if either party has such want of understanding as renders him or her incapable of assenting to marriage."

So if you're 1st cousins and she wasn't 55 years old when you married, your marriage is null and void anyway (i.e., you're not legally married to begin with).

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Answered on 11/06/07, 9:58 pm


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