- 13 - sec. 826.01 (West 2006). While we believe that the State of Florida had no reason to suspect that the Florida marriage was void ab initio, we do not find that the subsequent annulment gave validity to either the marriage entered into in Florida or the cohabitation of petitioner and Mr. Khalil Aly in Delaware. A marriage void ab initio in the State where contracted is also void ab initio in another jurisdiction. Cf. Loughran v. Loughran, 292 U.S. 216, 223 (1934) (a general rule of conflict of laws that a marriage, which is valid under the law of the place where it is contracted, is recognized as valid everywhere). As a final point on the inconsequential effect of the annulment, we conclude that the Delaware annulment did not validate any common law arrangement that would permit petitioner to file as married, as neither Florida nor Delaware recognizes common law marriage. Del. Code Ann. tit. 13, sec. 126 (1999); Fla. Stat. Ann. sec. 741.241 (West 2005). In Delaware, the presumption of marriage arising from marital cohabitation is not conclusive but rather subject to rebuttal, which may be made by proof of facts showing that no marriage ever existed between the parties, or proof that at its commencement either party had a prior spouse living and undivorced. Owens v. Bentley, 14 A.2d 391 (Del. 1940). Here, we are convinced that the facts presented in this case arePage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011