Is a marriage with an aunt a valid marriage? Are the children born out of such marriage legitimate?
Full Question:
I am married and live in Colorado. After 6 years of marriage, I came to know that she is my aunt. We have a four year old son. Is our marriage a prohibited one? Is there any issue regarding the legitimacy of our child?
12/28/2016 |
Category: Paternity |
State: Colorado |
#29011
Answer:
“(1) The following marriages are prohibited:
(a) A marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties, except a currently valid marriage between the parties;
(a.5) A marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier civil union of one of the parties, except a currently valid civil union between the same two parties;
(b) A marriage between an ancestor and a descendant or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood;
(c) A marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal cultures.
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The provision related to children born out of prohibited marriage is dealt under C.R.S. 14-2-110 (2). It provides in pertinent part that:
“***
Children born of a prohibited marriage are legitimate.”
Therefore, under Colorado law your marriage is a prohibited marriage. However, as the children born out of a prohibited marriage are legitimate, the child born out of your relationship is legitimate.
