Civil law

Other

Can Marianne and Alex get married even if they are under 18?

Yes, it’s possible for minors to get married once they reach 16, as long as both parents agree.

You can only skip the step of getting mom and dad’s blessing in the rare situation in which a court has decided to remove some of their rights as parents. To find out more about this subject, you can check out the Infosheet entitled Parental authority.

Let’s say that Marianne and Alex go through with the wedding ceremony against the wishes of Marianne’s parents (by lying about their ages, for example.) The marriage could be declared invalid and Alex would have to give up any hope of his mother-in-law helping to pay for the honeymoon!

Marianne and Alex have heard about “civil” and “religious” wedding ceremonies. What’s the difference?

Legally, there is no difference. Regardless of whether the ceremony is civil (non-religious) or religious, the rights and obligations created are the exactly the same.

If Marianne and Alex opt for a religious ceremony, they must not only sign the declaration of marriage required by the Directeur de l’état civil (the government body responsible for marriage-related questions), but also respect the requirements of their religion.

Deciding between a civil or religious ceremony is therefore a spiritual and personal decision rather than a legal one.

Are their other kinds of unions besides marriage?

Yes. Since 2002, couples in Quebec have been able to choose a “civil union”. Civil union is very much like marriage. Like marriage, the civil union creates rights and obligations. But there is a big difference in the way the civil union ends when a couple separates. To end a marriage, the couple absolutely has to get a divorce judgment. To end a civil union, the couple simply has to make a joint declaration before a notary (unless they have children together, in which case they have to go before a judge).

However, there’s one little problem with this option for Marianne and Alex: you have to be at least 18 to enter into a civil union.

Will being married change Marianne and Alex’s legal status?

Yes. When a minor gets married, she or he becomes “fully emancipated”. This means that Alex and Marianne can fully exercise their rights as though they were adults. This includes entering into certain types of contracts, having their own home, signing a long-term lease, making donations, writing a will, starting legal proceedings, etc. For example, once married and legally emancipated, Alex and Marianne could move out of their parents’ place, sign a three-year lease, and pursue their landlord themselves if he refuses to repair their broken shower!

But this doesn’t mean they get all the rights of adults, such as the right to go to a bar, to vote, or enter contests sponsored by beer companies. (Reserved to those 18 or older, no purchase required, see details inside the box!)

Also, an empancipated minor won’t have to go before a court for adults if he commits a crime.

Marriage isn’t the only way of becoming an emancipated minor. To find out more, see the Infosheet Emancipation of a Minor.

If Marianne and Alex want to live together without getting married or having a civil union, what will be their legal status?

They will be in a “de facto union” – or as most people say, a “common-law marriage”. Even if two people spend decades together in a de facto union and are madly in love, they still won’t have the same legal status as a person who is married or in a civil union.

Here are two important differences between the de facto union and marriage (or civil union):

• There is no family patrimony between de facto spouses. The family patrimony basically refers to certain kinds of property (home, car, retirement savings) split equally between spouses upon separation, regardless of who paid for what. To learn more about this, read the Infosheet Family patrimony.
  
  
• Following a separation, a de facto spouse can’t claim support payments for her personal needs. This is true even if, for example, she needs help because she stopped working to look after the kids
  
  
• But de facto couples shouldn’t feel as though they’ve been completely abandoned by the law! Certain laws with a social purpose give de facto couples who have been living together for a while or who have children the same protection as married or civil union couples.