Title 15, Title 15 Relations

Any marriage, which may have been deemed and held void because a former wife or husband of either of the parties to the marriage, divorced from the party by final decree, was living at the time of the marriage, may be declared valid and binding upon the parties by decree of the f…

Marriage is the legally recognized union of two (2) people. Terms relating to the marital relationship or familial relationships shall be construed consistently with this section for all purposes throughout the law, whether in the context of statute, administrative or court rule,…

If two (2) persons are within the jurisdiction of Rhode Island and have a legal union other than a marriage that provides substantially the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as a marriage and the union was validly entered into in another state or jurisdiction and the uni…

(a) Any provision of Rhode Island law that refers to, adopts, or relies upon provisions of federal law, including, but not limited to, those in title 44, shall apply to parties recognized as married under the laws of this state, as if federal laws recognized such marriages in the…

(a) Persons intending to be joined together in marriage in this state must first obtain a license from the clerk of the town or city in which: (1) Either party to the proposed marriage resides; or (2) The proposed marriage is to be performed, if both parties are nonresidents of t…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 15-2-1, at such time as the director of health adopts and implements a statewide electronic marriage license issuance and record registration system, the license may be obtained from the clerk in any city or town.

The several town and city clerks shall record, in separate books to be kept by them for that purpose, the information furnished to them and subscribed to as provided in §§ 15-2-1 — 15-2-10, except as otherwise provided in these sections.

In the city of Providence, the registrar of births, deaths, and marriages shall perform the duties devolved upon town and city clerks by the provisions of chapters 2 and 3 of this title, and all information provided by chapters 2 and 3 to be furnished to town and city clerks shal…

A marriage license shall only be granted to a person of full age. Attaining the age of eighteen (18) years shall be deemed full legal age pursuant to § 15-12-1.

With each marriage license, the town or city clerk shall provide information describing the causes and effects of fetal alcohol syndrome.

The forms of certificates, reports, and other returns required by this chapter, or by regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall include as a minimum the items recommended by the federal agency responsible for national vital statistics, subject to approval of and modific…

The license required by § 15-2-1 shall be valid for three (3) months after the date of issue, and if unused at the expiration of the three (3) months, the party or parties having possession of the license shall immediately return it to the town or city clerk from whom it was obta…

For issuing the license the town or city clerk shall collect a fee of fourteen dollars ($14.00). The license shall be presented to the minister, elder, justice, warden, or other person who performs the marriage ceremony. The city or town shall retain six dollars ($6.00) of the fo…

For each license the town or city clerk shall charge and receive an additional fee of ten dollars ($10.00), of which he or she shall retain two dollars ($2.00) and shall transmit eight dollars ($8.00) to the general treasurer for deposit to the credit of the family and children t…

Every minister, elder, justice, warden, or other person who joins persons in marriage, without first receiving the license required by chapter 2 of this title, containing the required information, or whenever the solemnization of the marriage has been lawfully objected to and the…

Every person authorized by law to join persons in marriage, who joins in marriage any woman or man that he or she knows to have a husband or wife living, shall be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months or fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(a) Every minister, elder, justice, warden, or other person who joins any persons in marriage, shall: (b) Endorse the “License and Certificate of Marriage” form, prescribed pursuant to § 15-2-7, presented to him or her by the persons, as provided in § 15-3-7, and certify that the…

The town or city clerk to whom the return of marriage provided for in § 15-3-12 is sent shall carefully file and preserve the return.

Every minister, elder, justice, warden, or other person authorized to join persons in marriage, including those authorized to join in marriage according to the Jewish religion, who fails to perform any of the duties devolved upon him or her by this chapter, shall be fined not exc…

(a) No marriage solemnized before a person professing to have a license to join persons in marriage as required by this chapter, or professing to be a justice of the supreme, superior, or family court, or a warden of the town of New Shoreham, or solemnized in the Society of Frien…

Every person who solemnizes a marriage without being legally authorized to do so shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500).

If, as the result of a court decision pursuant to chapter 6 of title 11, chapters 1 — 3 of this title, or chapter 3 of title 23, any marriage which has occurred in Rhode Island is declared invalid, the court shall order the state registrar of vital records to mark “invalid” the o…

Every ordained clergy or elder in good standing; every justice of the supreme court, superior court, family court, workers’ compensation court, district court or traffic tribunal; the clerk of the supreme court; every clerk, administrative clerk, general chief clerk, or administr…

Any marriage which may be had and solemnized among the people called Quakers, or Friends, in the manner and form used or practiced in their societies, or among persons professing the Jewish religion, according to their rites and ceremonies, or by a local spiritual assembly of the…

(a) Consistent with the guarantees of freedom of religion set forth by both the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 3 of the Rhode Island Constitution, each religious institution has exclusive control over its own religious doctrine, policy, a…

No minister, elder, justice, warden, or other person shall join any person in marriage until the persons to be married have presented to him or her the license named in chapter 2 of this title, and he or she has signed the certificate appended to the license.

The solemnization of marriage shall be in the presence of at least two (2) witnesses besides the minister, elder, justice, or warden officiating.

If any person has any lawful objection to the marriage of any two (2) persons, he or she may state the objection in writing, under his or her hand, to the minister, elder, justice, or warden about to solemnize the marriage, at which time the minister, elder, justice, or warden sh…

The real estate, chattels real, and personal estate which are the property of any woman before marriage, or which may become the property of any woman after marriage, or which may be acquired by her own industry, including damages recovered in suits or proceedings for her benefit…

A married woman may be, give bond as, and exercise the powers: (1) of trustee, when appointed by deed; (2) of executrix, trustee, or guardian, when appointed under a will or by a court of competent jurisdiction; or (3) of administratrix or guardian, when appointed by a court of c…

The wife may act as agent or attorney of her husband, and the husband may act as the agent or attorney of his wife.

The husband shall not be liable by reason of the marital relation: (1) for any contract made or for any tort committed by his wife prior to their marriage; (2) for any contract made after marriage by his wife; (3) for torts committed by his wife after marriage, unless he particip…

The property secured to a married woman by this chapter shall be liable to attachment and levy for her debts, and to levy for judgment in any action of tort against her, as if she were single and unmarried; and nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair any lien or righ…

(a) In all actions, suits, and proceedings by or against a married woman, she shall sue and be sued alone. (b) In all actions for injuries to the person, a married woman may sue in her own name and may include in the suit a claim for medical and/or hospital and/or dental expenses…

In all causes of action or cases of adverse possession, no exception to the running of the statute of limitations shall be made in favor of a married woman because of her coverture.

Whenever a husband has abandoned his wife and been absent from the state for the period of one year or more, or whenever the husband is condemned to imprisonment for one year or more, the wife may petition the superior court, wherever sitting, setting forth these facts. Upon sati…

No cause of action shall be barred on the ground that the parties are married or were married at the time that the cause of action accrued. The common-law doctrine of interspousal immunity is explicitly and totally abrogated.

The sole and separate receipt, order, or discharge of the wife for the payment and delivery to her, or to any person upon her order, of her own property, or the rents and profits of her property, including money on deposit in any savings bank or institution for savings, or other …

A married woman may make any contract the same as if she were single and unmarried, and with the same rights and liabilities.

A married woman may sell and convey directly to, or may take directly from, her husband or any other person any estate or interest in any real or personal property in the same manner and with the same effect as if she were single and unmarried. Nothing contained in this section s…

The deed of a married woman conveying her separate interest in any lands, tenements, or hereditaments shall be acknowledged by her in the same manner as if she were single and unmarried. If any deed affecting her right of life estate created by chapter 25 of title 33 in any estat…

A married woman, including a minor, may bar her right of life estate created by chapter 25 of title 33 in any estate of her husband by joining with him in the deed conveying the estate, and releasing her claim to life estate created by chapter 25 of title 33, or by releasing her …

Any married woman of sane mind and not less than eighteen (18) years of age may dispose of her real or personal estate or any portion of her real or personal estate by last will and testament, executed in the manner in which other wills are required to be executed for disposition…

The rights of a spouse in the real estate of his or her spouse, as created by chapter 25 of title 33, shall not be impaired by the provisions of this chapter.

A married woman may carry on any trade or business as if she were single and unmarried; but her husband shall not be liable for her debts, contracts, or torts from that trade or business. A husband and wife may be partners in a trading or any other type of partnership.