3.3 Grounds and Defenses

3.3 GROUNDS AND DEFENSES

Marriages that are void ab initio include bigamous and polygamous marriages ⁶ and incestuous marriages. ⁷ Virginia law also classified same-sex marriages as void, ⁸ but that statute was found to be unconstitutional in Bostic v. Schaefer. ⁹ Grounds for annulment of voidable marriages include fraud or duress, ¹⁰ mental incompetence, ¹¹ and the physical impotence of a party. ¹² Voidable marriages also include a marriage where one spouse

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fathered a child born to a woman who is not his spouse within 10 months after the marriage without the knowledge of his spouse and a marriage where the wife was pregnant by someone other than her spouse at the time of the marriage without the knowledge of the spouse. In addition, where either party did not know at the time of the marriage that the other party had been convicted of a felony or had been a prostitute, an annulment may be granted. ¹³ Irregularities related to the marriage license and the process by which the marriage was solemnized may create issues concerning the validity of the marriage. It is important to remember that a strong presumption supports the validity of a marriage, and the party challenging its validity bears the burden to rebut the presumption. ¹⁴

After July 1, 2016, a person must be at least 18 years of age to marry unless a minor has been emancipated by court order. ¹⁵ A petition for emancipation may be filed in the juvenile court by a person between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age. ¹⁶ At a hearing attended by both parties seeking to marry, the court will consider a...