Random Q? about the show "Sister Wives"

[ha98ed14]

We don't have cable, so I have only watched clips online, but I have to admit a curiosity about people who choose to live like this. I saw in the news that the family has left Utah for Nevada presumably because they were being investigated for bigamy. My question is, since he is legally married to only Wife #1, are bigamy charges even applicable? If adult women choose to live with and have children by a married man, is that a crime? As long as they aren't being held against their wills, can he be prosecuted?

[JBaxter]

I wonder about that also.

[JTsMom]

Yes, b/c it's considered a common law marriage.

[JBaxter]

Utah: Administrative order establishes that it arises out of a contract between two consenting parties who: (a) are capable of giving consent; (b) are legally capable of entering a solemnized marriage; (c) have cohabited; (d) mutually assume marital rights, duties, and obligations; and (e) who hold themselves out as and have acquired a uniform and general reputation as husband and wife. The determination or establishment of such a marriage must occur during the relationship or within one year following the termination of that relationship.
Because the doctrine of common-law marriage developed before the advent of modern domestic relations statutes, in some states the law exists in case law rather than legislation. (For example: Piel v. Brown, 361 So. 2d 90, 93 (Ala. 1978); Deter v. Deter, 484 P.2d 805, 806 (Colo. Ct. App. 1971); Johnson v. Young, 372 A.2d 992, 994 (D.C. 1977); Smith v. Smith, 161 Kan. 1, 3, 165 P.2d 593, 594 (1946); Sardonis v. Sardonis, 106 R.I. 469, 472, 261 A.2d 22, 23 (1970); Johnson v. Johnson, 235 S.C. 542, 550, 112 S.E.2d 647, 651 (1960)).

BUT I found this also :
Common Law Marriage
You can ask the court to recognize your relationship as a marriage even if you never had a legal wedding ceremony. This is known as common law marriage. You must file a request to have a common law marriage recognized during your relationship, or within one year after the end of your relationship.

The most common reasons for asking the court to recognize a common law marriage are to deal with issues that arise when the relationship ends, such as property division, establishing child custody, or to establish survivor benefits or other welfare benefits if one of the parties has died.

Utah courts may recognize a common law marriage if the following conditions are met:

Both parties are of legal marriage age and are able to give consent
Both parties are capable of being married
The parties live(d) together as man and wife
The parties assume(d) marital responsibilities and duties
The parties "held themselves out" as husband and wife, and others perceive(d) them to be married.



BOTH Parties are capable of being married... I would see that as a loop hole because the man would not be capable of being married since one is already married how does he qualify for common law marriage?

[scrooks]

He is only legally married to the first wife. And I agree with your take on the other stuff! I watch the show and it really surprised me how typical the family was. They are not at all like other polygamists that have been in the news. I know that I could never share my DH like that but how is it really different from situations where the husband has an affair and the wife looks the other way?

[daniele_ut]

He is only legally married to the first wife. And I agree with your take on the other stuff! I watch the show and it really surprised me how typical the family was. They are not at all like other polygamists that have been in the news. I know that I could never share my DH like that but how is it really different from situations where the husband has an affair and the wife looks the other way?

Part of the reason it's different is because they share the same property (3 family house) and they co-parent each others' children. But yes, he has been "married" long enough to wives #2 and 3 for those unions to be considered common law marriages under our state law.

In the past, the state of Utah has generally only prosecuted polygamy cases when there was clear evidence of endangerment of children. Because this family chose to participate in a reality show, they brought a lot of publicity and law enforcement felt they couldn't look the other way any longer.

Also, there is a big difference between the FLDS and the polygamists who live in regular communities and try to stay under the radar. There are a LOT of the latter here in SLC. There is a family that lives through the back fence and one house over from us that is polygamous. I've counted as many as 15 kids in their yard on occasion.

[scrooks]

Daniele- just a quick question... How are families like the Browns perceived in Utah? Is it considered really odd or just normal for the area? I was just curious.

[daniele_ut]

Daniele- just a quick question... How are families like the Browns perceived in Utah? Is it considered really odd or just normal for the area? I was just curious.

Good question. I'm a transplant from the east coast, and a convert to the LDS church so I might have a different viewpoint than some. I think the whole thing is a little strange, frankly. I was honestly shocked when I moved here and found out that there were polygamous families living scattered around the state, and not just in the FLDS compound, because I know it's illegal. The LDS church abolished the practice of polygamy in the 1800s and excommunicates members who practice it, so I really don't understand the people who practice it and still try to claim they are LDS. It confuses people not of our faith and causes a lot of misconceptions about our faith.

I know quite a few people who have family who are still polygamous, but they keep it really quiet, so that gives me the sense that most people here just tolerate it in a "live and let live" sense, but that it's not accepted in the mainstream.