Difference between revisions of "Married Spouses and the Law on Marriage"
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It used to be the | It used to be the | ||
<span class="noglossary">case</span>, and many people think this is still true, that if the spouses never had sex the marriage was voidable. The common law has developed in a somewhat different direction. A spouse must have either a complete inability to have sex because of some physical problem, or an "invincible repugnance" to the prospect of sex which is psychological in nature. Be warned that one instance of consummation will defeat either spouse's ability to claim inability to consummate as a ground of voidability. | <span class="noglossary">case</span>, and many people think this is still true, that if the spouses never had sex the marriage was voidable. The common law has developed in a somewhat different direction. A spouse must have either a complete inability to have sex, because of some physical problem, or an "invincible repugnance" to the prospect of sex which is psychological in nature. Be warned that one instance of consummation will defeat either spouse's ability to claim inability to consummate as a ground of voidability. | ||
A 2004 case of the British Columbia Supreme Court, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1q1m1 Grewal v. Sohal]'', 2004 BCSC 1549, reviewed the law on applications to annul a marriage based on non-consummation. The court held that the applicant must prove that: | A 2004 case of the British Columbia Supreme Court, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1q1m1 Grewal v. Sohal]'', 2004 BCSC 1549, reviewed the law on applications to annul a marriage based on non-consummation. The court held that the applicant must prove that: | ||
*there had been no consummation of the marriage, | |||
*the refusal to consummate the marriage was persistent and not due to capricious obstinacy, | |||
*the applicant has an invincible aversion to sex with the other spouse, | |||
*the aversion was the result of some sort of incapacity, and | |||
*the incapacity may be based on normal, predictable reactions. | |||
==Invalid marriages== | ==Invalid marriages== | ||