June 2018 Bar Bulletin
By Kim Schnuelle
A young woman named Stella comes into your office and tells you a convoluted story. She and her boyfriend Sam were happily living together for several years, but were nonetheless subject to unrelenting pressure from her family to “make it legal.” To stop their complaints, she and Sam had a wedding ceremony and invited the entire family. Their friend Sheila, who has a mail-order license to perform weddings, officiated. Stella and Sam had an extensive wedding registry and took donations for a “honeymoon” in Jamaica. They never intended to be legally wed however, and so, unbeknownst to their relieved relatives, they never obtained a marriage...