Marriage abroad

Marriage abroad (to circumvent the laws) restrictions are in place in several states of the United States such as Wisconsin [1]. They declare that when a resident of that state goes to another jurisdiction for a marriage that would be unlawful in the home state, such a marriage is void; and reciprocally, that a resident of another jurisdiction cannot be lawfully married in the enacting state if such a marriage would be void in their home jurisdiction. Such laws are intended to prevent the evasion of restrictions on age, kinship, post-divorce marriage, and so on. Despite arguments that such laws violate the full faith and credit provisions of the U.S. Constitution, Wisconsin courts have upheld decisions based on such statutes as recently as 2001 2001 WI App 181.

See also

Full Faith and Credit Clause