Hi John A bit delayed as I got "Microsofted" earlier when a critical update knocked me offline until a few minutes ago Many thanks for your input on this All interesting stuff, serves me right for not making notes when I came across these things in the past Yes, Guys site is very useful for the various acts relevant to this subject plus many others of course Many thanks Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > It may be technically invalid through some defect - lack of parental consent, for example, failure > to produce banns certificate , person conducting ceremony not a person qualified to do so [but > with access to the registers] - but these are not in themselves regarded as sufficient to void > the marriage, which remains "valid but irregular." Some of these points and others are > specifically covered in one or more of the MArriage Acts. > > The general presumption in English law seemsto be that a marriage stands until decisively proved > otherwise, as marriage is seen as a bedrock of society [not just the marriage per se, but the > complications for inheritance. > > Guy Etchells, at his site below, has most if not all of the Act - worth perusing if you want to > know more. > > Kind regards, > John