Legal Corner: What is required in Louisiana to prove a marriage ceremony occurred?

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Legal Corner answers viewers’ civil legal questions.

QUESTION: I have suspicions about my next-door neighbors’ alleged marriage. They claim to be married, but no one who knows them can recall them having a wedding ceremony. They are both over the age of 40, so they are adults.

What is required in Louisiana to prove a marriage ceremony occurred?

ANSWER: The fact of marriage can be proven through direct and circumstantial evidence. Marriage is presumed when spouses live together and have a general and consistent reputation in the community of being married. Louisiana law supports recognizing marriages when circumstances suggest that the prerequisites have been met. This presumption, however, can be overcome by positive testimony that, notwithstanding cohabitation and the birth of children, no legal marriage ceremony took place.

A legal marriage ceremony must have occurred as follows:

· Both parties must be present: Both members of the couple must be physically present at the ceremony.

· Qualified officiant: A third party who is qualified to perform the ceremony must officiate the wedding.

· Two adult witnesses: Two adult witnesses must be present at the ceremony and sign the marriage license.

· Free consent: Both parties must give their free consent to marry each other.

QUESTION: I am tired of people in private and company vehicles turning around on my driveway on my property. I own the property and the house connected to the driveway.

What can I do to stop them? Is their action illegal?

ANSWER: Private property owners can post no trespassing signs, and they can erect physical barriers that prevent drivers from entering private property and turning around. If a driver quickly uses a driveway to turn around, then this quick, one-time action may not rise to the level of criminal trespass in Louisiana.

In Lake Charles, criminal trespass is defined in Section 13-37(b) of the City of Lake Charles Code of Ordinances as follows:

No person shall intentionally enter immovable property owned by another:

(1) When he knows his entry is unauthorized, or

(2) Under circumstances where he reasonably should know his entry is unauthorized.

In Louisiana, the criminal trespass statute, La.R.S. 14:63(B)(1), provides:

No person shall enter upon immovable property owned by another without express, legal, or implied authorization.

Drivers may not access private property without the explicit consent or permission of the property owner. If they do, then they may be in breach of local and state trespass laws.