WE all hope and pray for a happy married life. However, ignorance has its own associated costs in every sphere of life. We and our loved ones may end up paying dearly for being ignorant about a few legal aspects post-marriage. Pay attention to these legal aspects prior to tying the nuptial knot and enjoy a Happy Marriage ever after -
1. Did you know that if a Hindu bride girl is below 15 years of age, she can have her marriage annuled after turning 15 on the grounds that the marriage was solemnised without her consent. We are referring to those tribes and communities wherein child marriage is still prevalent and therefore enjoys a legal sanctity. A court ruling says that she can have the marriage annuled anytime until she turns 18. Thus you will have three arduous years of marriage from the day she turns 15 if you marry a girl below 15 years of age. You also face punishment under Indian Penal Code u/s 376 IPC for having committed rape if you establish sexual relationship with your wife until she turns 15.
2. Hindu Marriage Acts requires that the bride be at least 18 years of age and the groom be at least 21 years of age, in order for the marriage to be valid in the eyes of law (unless a custom prevails otherwise in their community / tribe).
3. If you plan to marry a divorcee, make sure that he/she has obtained a decree of divorce, that either his/her ex-spouse does not have a right of appeal against the divorce decree. And if the ex-spouse has a right to appeal, the time for filing an appeal has expired without an appeal having been filed. If an appeal is pending, you must wait until the outcome of the appeal. Ignoring this advice may land you in jail for having committed bigamy.
4. Law obviously does not permit you to marry a person who has separated from his / her existing life partner but has not yet obtained a decree of divorce.
5. If you intend to marry a widow / widower, you must make sure that your prospective life partner has his/her death certificate. Also it must be kept in mind that when a widow re-marries, she loses all her rights and interests in her dead husband’s property by way of maintenance, or by inheritance to her husband unless her husband leaves a "will" with an express permission to re-marry.
This leads young grooms to another important legal aspect. If you are a young male, belong to a well-to-do family and have children, you may have a "will" prepared wherein your wife may not have a right in your estate if she remarries. At that time, the "will" may pass on your estate to your children or next kin in order of relationship. This would protect your estate from a misuse by your wife’s second husband.
6. If a widow gets her share in her deceased husband’s estate by division of property under the provisions of Hindu Succession Act, 1956, she continues to enjoy her title, right and interest in the said property even after her re-marriage. Take an example - Sukhda married a person Ram Narain, s/o Krishan Narain in 1972. Her husband died in 1979. She lived with her in-laws and became a co-sharer of the properties of her father-in-law Krishan Narain by virtue of being his daughter-in-law. Krishan Narain died in 1985. If she was still Krishan Narain’s daughter-in-law at that time, she accrued a right of her share in his property under Hindu Succession Act. And once this right accrued to her, she does not lose her share of the properties if she re-marries any time after her father-in-law’s death.
Note - The above Article is based on leading Court Judgments and various Acts in force. These may change with time and therefore readers are advised to keep referring to the latest posts.
Contributed by :
http://www.soulmateindia.com/
Monday, December 10, 2007
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