Rawson v. Rawson
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Petition under the Pub. Sts. c. 145, §§ 11 and 14. The petitioner set forth that she was legally married to one Bruce in 1852; that they subsequently cohabited in this Commonwealth until 1868, when Bruce deserted her; that she heard nothing of or from him, in any way, for eight years, and a long time thereafter, and that she honestly supposed him to be dead, but had recently heard that he was alive ; that in 1876 she entered into the marriage relation with Moses A. Rawson,…
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Petition under the Pub. Sts. c. 145, §§ 11 and 14. The petitioner set forth that she was legally married to one Bruce in 1852; that they subsequently cohabited in this Commonwealth until 1868, when Bruce deserted her; that she heard nothing of or from him, in any way, for eight years, and a long time thereafter, and that she honestly supposed him to be dead, but had recently heard that he was alive ; that in 1876 she entered into the marriage relation with Moses A. Rawson, which marriage was contracted in good faith, and with the full belief of both .parties that the former husband of the…
1Opinion of the CourtKnowlton, J.
This case presents the question whether, when two persons have contracted marriage in good faith in the belief that each can lawfully marry, and it is subsequently discovered that the marriage is void because one of the parties has a former husband or wife alive, a libel for annulling the marriage can be maintained by the survivor, after the death of the other party.
The Pub. Sts. c. 145, § 11, which provide for proceedings to annul or affirm a marriage whose validity is doubted, make these proceedings closely analogous to proceedings for divorce. Under the statute, “ either party may file a…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Pingree v. GoodrichSupreme Court of Vermont · 1868
3Cited by15 opinions
- Bernatavicius v. BernataviciusMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1927
- Stone v. DuffyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1914
- Old Colony Trust Co. v. PorterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1949
- Diggs v. DiggsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1935
- Woodward v. Commissioner of Social SecurityMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2002
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