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Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act - 750 ILCS 5, Section 212

Legal Research Home > Illinois Lawyer > Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act > Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act - 750 ILCS 5, Section 212

Prohibited Marriages.

(a) The following marriages are prohibited:

(1) a marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties; (2) a marriage between an ancestor and a descendant or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption; (3) a marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood; (4) a marriage between cousins of the first degree; however, a marriage between first cousins is not prohibited if: (i) both parties are 50 years of age or older; or

(ii) either party, at the time of application for a marriage license, presents for filing with the county clerk of the county in which the marriage is to be solemnized, a certificate signed by a licensed physician stating that the party to the proposed marriage is permanently and irreversibly sterile; (5) a marriage between 2 individuals of the same sex.

(b) Parties to a marriage prohibited under subsection (a) of this Section who cohabit after removal of the impediment are lawfully married as of the date of the removal of the impediment.

(c) Children born or adopted of a prohibited or common law marriage are the lawful children of the parties.

(Source: P.A. 94-229, eff. 1-1-06.)

Last modified: April 7, 2006