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Age Allowed to Get Married With Parental Consent
Recently, a 22-year-old man married a 14-year-old girl in Kansas. Couples are allowed to get married there with parental consent in addition to court permission where the judge thinks the marriage would be in the best interest of the parties.
Generally, two ages must be met in order to get married: the age of consent to engage in sexual relations and the age of majority to enter into a contract. Many states set the age of consent needed to engage in sexual relations at 16 years old. And the fact that a parent or legal guardian is willing to “co-sign” the marriage contract makes the contract legally enforceable. Therefore, most states allow teenagers to get married with parental consent at the age of 16.
Parental consent will be achieved with a notarized copy of a consent form, by parental physical presence during the submission of the marriage application, parental signing of the form at the county clerk’s office or, in some states, just a written letter from the parents.
Depending on the state, partners are prohibited from marrying under the age of 16 (15-17), even with parental consent. However, many states permit a judge to allow marriage in extreme circumstances, that is, if a pregnancy or birth has occurred. In this case, however, parental consent is still required, on top of the judge’s permission. The law gives parents and legal guardians the ultimate discretion to do what they feel is best for their children.
Interestingly, in states where the age of consent for sexual relations is 18, marriage under 18 can still be allowed with parental consent. States usually do not charge husbands for “statutory rape” of their underage wives – prosecutors shy away from charging someone who does not leave the girl unwed and pregnant.
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