Marriage And Divorce
Marriage may be entered into by any two persons, with the following
exceptions: Idiots, lunatics, persons of unsound mind, persons related
by blood or affinity within certain degrees prohibited by law, infants
under the age of consent, which varies in the different States, and all
persons already married and not legally divorced.
The causes for which a divorce may be obtained vary greatly in the
different
States. In South Carolina only fraud and force are recognized
as invalidating the marriage tie, this State having no divorce law. In
the District of Columbia and all the other States with the exception of
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia, cruelty is a statutory
cause, and desertion in all but New York. In most of the States neglect
is also recognized as a valid cause. Imprisonment for crime is a cause
in all except Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
Physical inability is a cause in all the States except California,
Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota and Texas. Intemperance, in all but
Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakotah, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. The time of residence required to
secure a divorce varies from 6 months in Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada and
Texas to 3 to 5 years in Massachusetts. In most States it is one year.
Remarriage is permitted in all the States having divorce laws except
Georgia, and alimony is also provided for in all these States.