Can cousins get married in Massachusetts? An individual may marry their cousin, even a first cousin, in Massachusetts. It is completely legal. The laws of Massachusetts do not impose any restrictions whatsoever on the marriage of cousins. There are no special waiting periods and no special requirements at all. Massachusetts is one of the more progressive states in this regard.
A lawyer consultation with a Massachusetts lawyer would help a person understand whether they can marry a cousin and other issues connected to marriage in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts law does prohibit individuals who share certain family relationships from marrying, but, again, it expressly exempts cousins. Massachusetts law does prohibit marriage between immediate family members, e.g., brother and sister, parent and child. It would also prohibit an individual from marrying certain people in step-relationships, e.g., a stepfather and his stepdaughter or a stepmother and her stepson.
So an individual may not marry the following family members:
- Mother or grandmother
- Daughter or granddaughter
- Sister or stepsister
- Stepmother
- Grandfather’s wife
- Grandson’s wife
- Wife’s mother or grandmother
- Wife’s daughter or granddaughter
- Brother’s daughter or sister’s daughter
- Father’s sister or mother’s sister.
- Their father or grandfather
- Their son or grandson
- Their brother or stepbrother
- Their stepfather
- Their grandmother’s husband
- The husband of their daughter or granddaughter
- Their husband’s grandfather, son, or grandson
- Their brother’s son
- Their uncles.
It is important to notice that cousins of any degree, half-cousins, or adopted cousins, are not listed. That is because marrying a cousin is legally permissible in Massachusetts.
Which States Prohibit Cousin Marriages?
Twenty-four states have laws that prohibit the marriage of first cousins. There are no exceptions for age, fertility or any other conditions. The law in some states even imposes criminal punishment for violation of the prohibition against the marriage of first cousins. These states are as follows:
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming.
Which Other States Allow Cousin Marriages?
In some other states, first cousins are allowed to marry legally. These states are as follows:
- Alabama
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- New York
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Virginia.
In some states, first cousins can get married if certain requirements are met as follows:
- Both parties are elderly, i.e., basically 65 or older.
- They produce proof that one or both are infertile.
- The parties obtain genetic counseling.
- They obtain court approval.
These conditions do not apply in Massachusetts.
Are Cousin Marriage Licenses From Out-of-State Valid?
It is a matter of U.S. constitutional law that one state must recognize a marriage license issued by another state. So if cousins have a marriage license from one state, they should be able to use it in another state.
Massachusetts does not recognize common law marriage, but common law marriage does not involve a marriage license. Common law marriage is recognized in many states in the U.S. It is a marriage that is not established by a legal marriage ceremony, but generally by two people living together in the same residence for many years and doing the following:
- Having children together
- Sharing their financial resources and
- Referring to each other as “husband” and “wife.”
Many states recognize common law marriage, but Massachusetts does not. To be legally married in Massachusetts, a couple must get a marriage license and then participate in an official ceremony conducted by a person authorized in Massachusetts to conduct legal marriage ceremonies.
However, a common law marriage established in another state may be recognized as a valid marriage in Massachusetts if the following conditions are met:
- The spouses lived in a state that recognized common law marriage, e.g., Texas, Colorado, or Iowa.
- The spouses relationship has met all of the state’s legal criteria for a valid common law marriage.
- The spouses move to Massachusetts after having established their common law marriage in the other state.
If a couple’s common law marriage from another state qualifies as legally valid in Massachusetts, then they may qualify for such rights and benefits as the following:
- Spousal support (alimony) if they should separate or get divorced
- Division of marital property if they separate or divorce
- Access of both to the health insurance of one of them
- Inheritance rights
- Legal standing in court.
As for marriage between young partners, as of 2022, an individual who is under the age of 18 may not legally marry in Massachusetts. There are no exceptions to the prohibition of teen marriage in the state.
Before 2022, people as young as 12 if they were female and 14 if they were male could legally marry, if they had the approval of their parents and a court. But social practices in this regard have changed, and the Massachusetts legislature thought it time to change the law to reflect current thinking on the issue. An individual must be at least 18 to get married in Massachusetts.
A nullity of marriage, more commonly known as “annulment,” is a legal declaration that a marriage was not legally valid. Divorce ends a legally valid marriage, but annulment is a legal determination that a valid marriage never existed in the first place.
Is Incest Illegal in Massachusetts?
Is incest illegal in Massachusetts? Yes, incest is illegal in Massachusetts. Individuals who engage in incestuous sexual activity of any kind or incestuous marriages may be sentenced to up to 20 years in state prison or up to 2.5 years in a house of corrections.
The main difference between a state prison and a house of corrections in Massachusetts is the maximum sentence to which a defendant can be sentenced for each institution. A defendant can be sentenced to incarceration in a house of corrections for no more than 2.5 years upon conviction of a single criminal offense. A defendant can be sentenced to a Massachusetts state prison for any period of time, including a life sentence.
Of course, the maximum sentence for any conviction of a crime in Massachusetts is the sentence that the Massachusetts Penal Code allows.
The legal age of consent in Massachusetts is 16. Rape of a child is punishable by up to life in prison. Even consensual sexual activity with a person who is under the age of 16 is a criminal offense in Massachusetts, e.g., statutory rape.
A nullity of marriage, more commonly known as “annulment,” is a legal declaration that a marriage was not legally valid. Divorce ends a legally valid marriage, but annulment is a legal determination that a valid marriage never existed in the first place.
Incest is one of the grounds for annulling a marriage. Bigamy is another. So a person who may believe that they are in a marriage that is incestuous would be able to obtain an annulment by going to court.
Are First Cousins Considered “Close Family Members” for Purposes of Incest Law?
Any kind of sexual activity involving individuals who may not legally marry in Massachusetts constitutes incest under Massachusetts law. Because first cousins may marry legally in Massachusetts, then sexual activity between cousins is not considered incest in Massachusetts.
What Are Parental Rights for Incestuous Children?
An individual who is the parent of a child born as a result of an incestuous relationship between themselves and the other parent is very unlikely to have meaningful parental rights with respect to the child.
That is because the parent who is guilty of incest may well be serving a sentence of imprisonment. For this reason alone, they would be unable to provide the child with the care they require, and a court is unlikely to recognize any parental rights they might have.
Do I Need a Massachusetts Lawyer To Help With Cousin Marriage Laws?
If you have a question about cousins getting married in Massachusetts, or about any other issue involving the state’s marriage law, you want to speak to a Massachusetts family law attorney. Your lawyer will be able to review your situation and advise you as to whether you are able to legally marry your partner in Massachusetts. From the above, we can see that marriage can be more complicated than one might think, and a family law attorney can answer all of your questions.
