GETTING MARRIED: THE FULL GUIDE

01/09/2010 | Practice field: Family Law

At last! You've found the love of your life, you said goodbye to all your other swains, relieved your Jewish mother (and father) and decided to…. get married.

Now all you have to do, before finding a place, a dress and catering, is to choose the type of matrimonial ceremony that fits you and your way of living the most.

1. JEWISH MARRIAGE

Residents of the state of Israel who are identified as 'Jews' (the majority) and wish to be married are put under the particular jurisdiction of the rabbinical court, which conducts marriage by the rabbinical law.

How does it work?

By registration at the rabbinate at one of the spouse's residence (where the marriage will take place). A file should then be opened. One should mind that if the couple decides to postpone the marriage in the course of three months the file would be aborted and a new one should be opened. After the ceremony a copy of the signed 'ketubah' (the Jewish marriage contract) is sent to the rabbinate and a marriage certificate is issued.

Important: the husband's commitment in the ketubah (certain sum of money) has a juridical significance. In case of divorce he might be sued for the committed sum.

2. NON-JEWISH MARRIAGE

A. CIVIL MARRIAGE OUTSIDE ISRAEL

Civil marriage (not according to the rabbinical law and the Jewish religion) is not acknowledged by any authority if conducted in Israel. But if from some reason one of the spouses or both of them considered disqualified to marry, or if the couple wishes not to be married according to the rabbinical law, a possibility of marrying abroad (regarding the couple's financial situation) does exist. Residents of Israel went to marry (and still do) in Cyprus, in the United States and in countries over Europe. A quite known other option is "Paraguay Marriage", namely marriage undertaken when only one of the spouses is present and not both of them.

Registration is exercised by the various civil registrar or authorities, regarding the state in which the marriage takes place (for instance, courts of law, city halls and municipal authorities). One should consider that there are states in which a period of time should pass between application and the ceremony itself (days to weeks). Also, some states pose conditions before one can deliver the application: medical examination, proving legal capacity, minimal age, documentaries (as birth certificate) etc. Note: many countries do not allow marriage if the spouses are not residents of these countries.

After the ceremony is over an official marriage certificate is issued. One can present the certificate to the authorities in Israel and change the personal status from "single" to "married".

One should remark that according to Jewish law civil marriage is considered invalid one, but cohabitation, or better: the situation in which the spouses live together, constitutes alleged matrimony and the consequence: in case of divorce there is no difficulty to remove any doubt in order to prove that the woman is not married (meaning divorce by benefit of doubt, the Talmudic 'Get Lechumra').

B. REFORM AND CONSERVATIVE MARRIAGE

Since the Chief Rabbinate in Israel does not acknowledge reform and conservative rabbis, the reform and conservative ceremonies of marriage are also not formally acknowledged. Different from the orthodox ceremony, these ceremonies, though traditional, bear a more equivalent and modern character. For instance the conduct is in Hebrew and not in Aramaic as the orthodox one, blessing made by both spouses and not only the groom blesses the bride, and the ceremony itself may be conducted by a female rabbi.

C. "SECULAR" MARRIAGE

"Secular" marriage is another option of conducting the ceremony, this being carried by certain organizations as "Mishpacha Chadasha" (New Family) or 'The Secular Ceremonies Institute' or even famous "mega-stars" (Israeli speaking…). These ceremonies' characteristics are quite different from one another and correspond with the spouse's own nature and point of view. And yet, sometimes, and despite of everything, these ceremonies bear the characters of the traditional Jewish one, such as the cloth the couple stands under ("chupah"), exchanging rings and breaking the glass – anything that the couple wishes for and feels comfortable with.

3. THE LEGAL CONSEQUENSE OF NON-JEWISH MARRIAGE

· Registration – civil marriage being carried outside of Israel enables the couple to be issued at the civil registrar (a branch of the Ministry of Interior) as a married couple. Other non-Jewishmatrimonial ceremonies being conducted in Israel makes this registration impossible.

· Divorce by benefit of the doubt – though conducting civil marriage in order to prevent any connection with the rabbinical court and law, one sets foot in the rabbinical courts when children arrive: in order to prevent any classification of the infant as illegitimate one (meaning the Talmudic 'Mamzer' or 'Mamzera' for a female born).

· Illegitimacy of infants – according to the Jewish law, an illegitimate child ('Mamzer' as mentioned above) is one who was born to a married woman and whose father is not her husband. The consequence of being an illegitimate child is by classifying him as disqualified to marry (according to the Jewish law). Although it means that he or she will not be able to be married by Jewish marriage, when time comes the illegitimate child would be able to conduct civil marriage and there would be no civil or legal difference between him or her and any other person. And so, there is no difference between infants whose parents are married according to Jewish law and infants whose parents conducted civil or any other kind marriage or whose parents are not married at all. Yet, in case of civil or any other kind of marriage the importance of divorce by benefit of doubt is cardinal, for the lack of this kind of divorce, though the marriage is approved in a civil court, would bring in result an illegitimate infant if the mother and the father are not married. For according to the Jewish law the mother is still married to the first man.

4. RENOUNCING ANY FORMAL CEREMONY: COHABITATION

If spouses decided for the time being skipping any formal ceremony of marriage they should know that cohabitation may have future legal implications. Cohabitation is legally defined as a couple (from different sex and from the same sex) living together and conducting joint household. A quite pliable definition, for the ruling had expanded the possibilities of cohabitation. Legally, cohabitants enjoy the privileges of married couple: the Law of Succession which allows cohabitants to be beneficiaries as married spouses, retaliations and any other privileges connected with property and estate.

If there's any difference between non-Jewish married couple and cohabitants it lies within the divorce by benefit of doubt (which is naturally not necessary) and their children should never in any case be classified as illegitimate infants.

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