Β #MinnesotaMarriage #OfficiantTroubles #WeddingWoes
Hey there, friends! π Can you believe this crazy situation with the officiant not signing our marriage license?! π± Here’s the scoop:
– Got married in April, officiant signed the license.
– County didn’t receive it, now we need her to re-sign.
– Officiant keeps avoiding us, goes AWOL, blocks us.
– Legal ramifications for insurance and immigration.
– Options are limited and costly.
What do you guys think we should do? Here’s a potential solution:
– Contact the courts for a court order recognizing the marriage.
– Keep trying to reach the officiant or consider legal action.
Let’s brainstorm together and see if we can come up with some ideas to navigate this sticky situation! π€π #HelpNeeded #MarriageMess #CommunitySupport
Are you legally married? Letβs talk about that. The people who record marriages donβt think so. They think that youβre missing essential paperwork. So you could just ask them to reissue the license, have a new officiant marry you with a different date, and call it a day. I know itβs not ideal, but if you canβt afford the petition that might not even be granted, then I think itβs your best bet, and itβs by far the fastest thing you can do.
If the licensed is not signed, get a Justice of the Peace to sign it for you, use the new date? The wedding doesn’t make you legally married, the license does. If the license is incomplete, try making it complete with today’s date.
Iβm not following.
If officiant signed license and then license disappeared, why does the county consider you married?
Go to another county and get married at the clerk recorders office if they offer that.
Your original county did not record your license. Without that, a signed license, the license expires.
Not a lawyer.
Go to another county, have a court ceremony
I issued marriage licenses for 22 years in AZ. I believe that unless the license is signed by all parties, including the officiant and filed in the correct venue, you are not legally married. My suggestion would be, get another license, and get married. Make sure the officiant has the correct verbiage during the ceremony and signs the license. YOU then take it to the correct place to be filed.
Minnesota has a two-step license-then-certificate. So, your license is still valid and the person hasn’t submitted the certificate. You can get any other lawful solemnizer (e.g. a judge) to submit the certificate
The officiant had 5 days to submit the certificate, and broke [MN 517.13](https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/517.13) by not doing so – but the penalty is only $100
You are not bound to a particular officiant at all – I would not contact the shitty one again and just have someone else do it (a judge will solemnize for you)
I’m not an attorney. As a general rule, if a piece of documentation is not properly filled out and accepted by the relevant office, it’s not binding. I don’t think you are actually married. I’m no expert, but I don’t think you can be legally married enough to be unable to be married while also not actually being married. It’s a binary situation.
I would talk to some more attorney and see what they suggest. Make it clear that you don’t need that particular license, you just want to be married.
Maybe you can go talk to a neighboring jurisdiction and talk to them. Because something seems really off here.
Go to another county, apply for a license, get married by a judge at the courthouse. Record license in new county and move on.
Have your nephew or cousin sign up on ULC and sign it for you. It takes 5 minutes
Getting officiants signature:
Something is weird, maybe some context is missing, or the officiant has a mental break, either way this isnβt normal and the degree to which youβre saying they are actively avoiding you for a small task is super odd
Let the hunt begin!
Iβd track the officiant down. Do they have an office, do they attend a specific church or other regular weekly event, do you know where they live? Iβm not suggesting stocking them, but show up where you know they will be with a smile, a pen, and the license and say something like: βI know youβre super busy so I wanted to save you the time of coordinating a meeting can you sign the certificate and Iβll let you get on with your day.β Another intro thatβs even sweeter βweβve been worried about you, are you doing okay, anything we can don for you?β Thatβs ignoring their shitty and inexcusable behavior, but youβre basically cornering them with kindness so they donβt have any grounds to complain, blow you off, etc. now if they donβt sign ask them why (try and be kind still) and ask them where they are headed so you can meet them there and they can sign it really quickly. Be positive, persistent, and unwavering in your quest for their signature!
Best of luck!
Since no one has mentioned it, could you get a divorce and start over?
I don’t know what county you’re in but if you look there are a number of judges that perform marriage ceremonies. I would contact one of them and explain your situation. They may or may not be willing to help you.
You know need to do two things:
1. Talk to a lawyer. You urgently need to file a lawsuit against both your church and the officiant.
2. Go to another state and get married. That way you have a marriage on the books. Don’t get hung up on the date of the original ceremony for now. You can clean this up later.
Are you by any chance a gay couple? If so they are violating federal law.
This might be an issue your Representative or Senator could help with! Ask for Constituent Setvices
You need to prove you are married, correct? Can a lawyer here explain why the couple canβt just go to Las Vegas and get married there? Itβs not bigamy. Whatβs the downside? Certainly sounds a lot more fun than hunting down the officiant.
Sounds like a scammer. This is crazy, my daughter was 24 and did an on line thing so she can officially officiate a marriage. She officiated the marriage for my brother and his wife.
Edited for OP π
Have you tried showing up at the officiant’s door? Make sure to record
Why donβt you just go to the next county or city and go to the clerk?
Go to a different county or vegas
In connecticut, I am a JP. I can get halfway performing the ceremony, drop dead, not sign the paperwork, the couple is married. That’s just how it works here.
You should have had 3 copies of the marriage license. Use another copy?
Try passing on to her. if possible, that the cost going forward to rectify the situation is $3000.00 and you will have no other option but to sue her for reimbursement.
If you’re already married, they must have some proof of that they can share with you. If you’re not, you can get married.
Unfortunately, the wedding chapel at Mall of America closed. So you’ll have to shop statewide for an officiant who meets your schedule and price needs. Or have a relative become an officiant. Get the paperwork done, because you have a time limit.
If the other signed license appears, then the county clerks get the first try at dealing with it… but at least you’ll have marriage paperwork from before your deadlines.,
Marriage licenses usually are good for a certain period of time, 30 or 60 days around here. If they wonβt issue you a new license, wait until the original one expires and then go get another one
And get married by a justice of the peace at the court house.