Dacunzo v. Edgye - 19 N.J. 443, 117 A.2d 508 (1955)

Rule:

N.J. Stat. Ann. § 37:1-10 abolished common law marriages in New Jersey.

Facts:

Before she married respondent husband, appellant wife had held herself out as a single woman who had never been married. However, she had been married and divorced, but her divorce decree did not become final until one month and two days after the date of her marriage with respondent. Respondent filed an action for an annulment, and the trial court granted it. The appellate division affirmed. Appellant wife challenged the decision, arguing that she and respondent husband had a common law marriage that became binding when her divorce became final.

Issue:

Did the appellant wife and respondent husband have a common law marriage that became binding when appellant wife’s divorce became final? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court affirmed the judgment of annulment, holding that cohabitation after the removal of an impediment to marriage could not signify the continuance of the matrimonial intention and give rise to a valid marriage coinciding with the removal of the impediment because N.J. Stat. Ann. § 37:1-10 abolished common law marriages in New Jersey. The court also held that appellant failed to establish grounds for application of the doctrine of estoppel and that the doctrine of unclean hands could not have even theoretical application here. Further, the fact that the parties had children did not prevent the court from granting an annulment because N.J. Rev. Stat. § 9:15-2 provided that the children were legitimate despite the annulment.