Under certain circumstances it’s legal in New Jersey for a 12 year old to marry. Though it may be rare, the fact it happens at all should be a shock to anyone who cares about the welfare of children. Under the law, underage children are incapable of partaking in a number of things, including voting, drinking, and smoking. But with the permission of a parent and approval of a judge, a 12-year-old child can marry in New Jersey.

That nearly came to an end in May when a legislative proposal to prohibit those younger than eighteen from getting married was pulled from a vote in the State Assembly, says NJ.com. Objections to this and past proposals were made on religious grounds. After State Assemblyman Gary Schaer of Passaic came out against the bill, it was withdrawn.

Assemblyman Schaer claimed members of the Orthodox Jewish community wanted the legislation to allow for religious exceptions. The bill passed the Legislature in 2017 but was vetoed by then-Governor Christie. He said he’d approve it if a judge could approve the wedding of a 16 or 17 year old. Schaer stated he wants the same changes due to religious communities’ “history and rituals.”

There’s no limit on how young a child can marry in New Jersey

As it stands now, New Jersey law has a provision for 16 and 17 year olds to obtain marriage licenses with parental consent. Those under 16 need both parental consent and approval from a judge. The bill would’ve required all couples to wait until both parties turned 18 to obtain a marriage license.

The New Jersey State Health Department says that 3,628 minors were married in New Jersey from 1995 to 2015, with 95% of them 16 or 17 years old age. That leaves 181 children 15 and younger married in the state during those twenty years. They’re at ages when, if they committed a crime, normally they wouldn’t be charged as an adult. They’d be unable to enlist in the military, or legally buy cigarettes or alcohol. But they could marry and, but for that marriage, if they had sex with an adult the age of their adult spouse, he or she could be arrested for statutory rape.

Fraidy Reiss, founder of Unchained at Last, an organization fighting against child marriages and a supporter of the doomed bill, stated that based on her work, young women who marry against their will receive scant protection from the requirement of judicial approval. She said family pressure causes young girls to lie to the judge about their knowing and voluntary decision.

Child marriage used to cover up rape

An example of child marriage is that of Sherry Johnson of Florida, according to the Guardian. She was 11 when she was married to a twenty year old man who raped her. Because of that rape Sherry became pregnant. He was a deacon in the strict apostolic church her family attended. Sherry says the marriage was forced on her to cover up the scandal. Johnson describes that instead of her rapist going to prison, she was imprisoned in a marriage she didn’t want.

The Guardian estimates nearly 250,000 children were married in the U.S. from 2000 to 2010, some of them as young as ten. Almost all the female child brides married adult men.

Five states brought bills up for a vote to end child marriages this past year, including New Jersey and Florida. One that passed was in Delaware.

Last year, 17-year-old Girl Scout, Cassandra Levesque, became involved in changing New Hampshire’s law permitting those as young as 13 to marry with parental approval. Her local state representative introduced a bill to raise the minimum age to 18, but some male state representatives convinced others to kill the proposal. “One of them said that a 17-year-old Girl Scout couldn’t have a say in these matters,” she said. “So they think [we’re] old enough for marriage, but not old enough to talk about it….I think that reasoning is terrifying.”

A marriage entered into as a child can be dissolved

If you were married under the age of 18, depending on the circumstances, you could seek an annulment or a divorce. An annulment is a legal way to reverse the marriage and put you in a place as if it had never happened. Duress could be a basis to set aside the marriage, if you were threatened and, due to your fear of violence to yourself or others, you were coerced to marry your spouse.

Divorce may also be an option. If you have children, the child custody, parenting time, child support, alimony, and property issues are the same whether you’re seeking an annulment or a divorce.

Through a divorce, jointly acquired marital assets would be equitably divided. In an annulment, property owned jointly is almost always split evenly between the two of you. The decision to divorce or seek annulment is fact specific and sometimes based on deep emotions, which are an appropriate consideration.

Conclusion

A marriage entered into against your will has no future. It’s unfair and cruel to put a child in a position where they’re expected to marry and stay with someone for a lifetime, especially if the person is much older. We can help you end or annul a marriage that never should’ve happened in the first place.

If you would like to speak to a member of our firm regarding divorce or annulment, or if you have any other questions about our practice, please contact our office to arrange a reduced rate initial consultation. We accept credit cards and checks and offer general appointments from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, plus evening appointments during the week by pre-arrangement only. Call us today.  You will be glad you did.