If an Australian marries a non-Australian outside of Australia, what is the legal status of their marriage in Australia and the implications for the Australian party in the unfortunate event of divorce?
3 Answers
As a general rule, countries tend to recognize marriages performed abroad - even if those marriages could not legally be performed in the country. (So a 14 year old couple from North Carolina would be considered "married" in the UK. Note: that doesn't mean they can legally have sex.)
There are exceptions: countries which don't permit polygamy often don't recognize polygamous marriages performed where they are legal.
There would need to be evidence of the marriage though (as Jerry Hall found to her cost when she "divorced" Mick Jagger, and he successfully claimed that their wedding in Bali was not official).
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To marry before age 16 in North Carolina, a court order is needed. Also, a 14-year-old couple, married or not, would benefit from the toleration regime announced when the law was passed. Guidance: "it is not in the public interest to prosecute children who are of the same or similar age...where the activity is truly consensual for both parties and there are no aggravating features, such as coercion or corruption."– phoogAug 22, 2019 at 16:02
- Marriage: They are married under Australian law.
- Divorce: They are no longer married under Australian law.
As per @greendrake's comments, this is explained here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_Australia#Recognition_of_foreign_marriages