Depicted: Franz Schubert
Want to get married in California? The requirements are not as onerous as in Franz Schubert’s time. The famouse composer wasn’t able to marry the love of his life and in fact never married. Learn what it DOES take to get married below.
Therese Grob was the first love of Franz Schubert. She was the daughter of Heinrich Grob and Theresia Männer. The father died and the widowed mother continued to run the small silk-weaving business that Heinrich had established. They lived and worked very near Schubert's home. Schubert’s family and Therese’s family bonded over music, as Therese had an attractive soprano voice, and the young Heinrich was a talented pianist and violinist.
Therese sang in the Lichtental parish church, which Schubert had always attended. Schubert completed his first mass in late July 1814 – the Mass in F, D.105 – for the church's centenary celebrations, and Therese sang the soprano solo, which Schubert conducted himself.
A Marriage Consent Law enforced by Metternich expressly forbade marriages by men in Schubert's class if they could not verify their ability to support a family. Schubert's application in April 1816 was rejected.
Eventually, Therese moved on and married Johann Bergmann, a baker. Together they had four children: Sadly, Schubert himself never married.
Schubert dedicated a collection of songs to Therese; one of them, Gott im Fruehling D448, can be found HERE:
There is no financial requirement to meet to get married in California. In fact, on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court declared marriage a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person. (Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) US , , , 135 S.Ct. 2584, 2604, 2607.)
Depicted: Therese Grob
A valid marriage under California law requires the consent of the parties to that marriage. (Cal. Fam. Code., § 300(a)). The consent must then be followed by issuance of a license (Cal. Fam.Code, § 350 et seq.), solemnization (Cal. Fam.Code, § 400 et seq.) and authentication (Cal, Fam.Code, §§ 422-425). The authenticated marriage license “shall be returned to the county recorder of the county where the marriage license was issued.” (Cal. Fam. Code, §§ 300, 306; see also Cal. Fam.Code §§ 359, 360; Lockyer v. City & County of San Francisco (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1055, 1075.)
Noncompliance with the Family Code § 300 et seq. requirements by a nonparty to the marriage does not invalidate the marriage, (Cal. Fam.Code, § 306) as would be the case, for example, if the person solemnizing the marriage fails to return the certificate of registry. (Estate of DePasse, (2002) 97 Cal.App,4th 92, 106 (dictum); see also Chaney v. Netterstrom (2018) 21 Cal,App,5th 61, 68 [neither officiant's failure to return confidential marriage license to county nor parties' retention of same invalidated otherwise valid marriage].) On the other hand, a marriage will be invalidated by the parties' failure to comply with the statutory requirements (Estate of DePasse, supra.)
You don’t have to suffer like Schubert when you want to get married but you do have to follow all the current rules. Get it right! If you are contemplating getting married or want to challenge a potentially invalid marriage, schedule a free initial consultation with the Law Offices of Jane Migachyov HERE.