Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 40. FAMILY LAW

CHAPTER 1. MARRIAGE

Part 4. Validity of Marriages -- Declaration of Invalidity

Prohibited Marriages -- Contracts

40-1-401. Prohibited marriages -- contracts. (1) The following marriages are prohibited:

(a) a marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties;

(b) a marriage between an ancestor and a descendant or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, or between first cousins;

(c) a marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood;

(d) a marriage between persons of the same sex, as defined in 1-1-201.

(2) Parties to a marriage prohibited under this section who cohabit after removal of the impediment are lawfully married as of the date of the removal of the impediment.

(3) Children born of a prohibited marriage are legitimate.

(4) A contractual relationship entered into for the purpose of achieving a civil relationship that is prohibited under subsection (1) is void as against public policy.

History: En. 48-310 by Sec. 10, Ch. 536, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 48-310; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 424, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 685, L. 2023.