About sealings
I was told the other day that you could seal two people together if they weren’t married ? I wasn’t sure about this I thought that you should have some documentation to say they were legally together other wise they could be biggermists.
Answers
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@Nicholas Clark Check out this help article: Can a Couple Be Sealed Who Never Married or Whose Marriage Date I Cannot Find? It gives the policy on these kinds of relationships and sealings.
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Thanks for that article,is there a criteria for a common law spouse ? Like their being listed on census records ?
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What you were told is correct; but, there is a 'rider'.
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Technically a Couple DOES NOT have to have been "Married" to be "Sealed" together, you just have to have some form of documentation that they lived together (as Husband and Wife) for some period of time (no matter how short/brief), which includes "Common Law" relationships and the like.
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Here is then "Knowledge Article" that 'N_Tychonievich' refers to:
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Can a Couple Be Sealed Who Never Married or Whose Marriage Date I Cannot Find?
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As to 'Bigamists', that is a good situation, I had never considered 'Bigamy'; but, I suppose according to the aforementioned "Knowledge Article", that if a 'Bigamist' Couple "lived together", regardless of any previous current marriage status and the 'bigamy'; then, technically speaking, they could be "Sealed" together; especially, if they had Children - it is not any Children's fault.
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Brett
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Basically, if they have had children, you can get them sealed. For instance, my daughter in law had her great great grandfather in Louisiana who was married. He had two mulatto mistresses. Both had children by him and the children were taught in the schoolroom by the same tutors as his children by his wife. All were well provided for in his will. We sealed everyone together and the Spirit was so strong in the room all who were there could feel it and were in tears. Anyway, it was all documented in the census record, his will, and a journal.
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I have someone with a short term dating and she got pregnant, had the baby but put her up for adoption. Can she seal her two biological parents?
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Brett -- just a short note to add to what you've already written: If the father provided support to the "wife" and child, then they can be sealed. If there is evidence of cohabitation, then they can be sealed.
If no support was given and there was never any indication that a couple actually cohabited for a period of time (such as being recorded together on a census record), then they should not be sealed. Note that if the person who is working with the record has strong feelings (spiritual promptings), then they should seek permission through the proper channels.
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Child - Parent sealings must include the father. She can be listed in FamilyTree with her mother as biological, but not sealed if the father did not provide support or if there is no evidence of cohabitation. The referenced article contains the following statement: "It is important to be careful to avoid any “matchmaking” where there is no evidence of having lived together in a reasonably stable husband-wife relationship. For example, from time to time the First Presidency receives requests from well-meaning relatives to have a deceased couple sealed simply because they dated, were friends in life, or had some other relationship other than an actual stable husband-wife relationship. These requests are generally denied."
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Common Law is a legal classification for certain jurisdictions. It has been misused to mean any couple that lived together but were never officially married. It only applies if the couple lived in a jurisdiction that recognized such cohabitation as a "common law" marriage and is one of the four options in the couple-relationship area on a person's profile pages in FamilyTree.
The criteria is that either there must be some evidence of cohabitation, such as on a census record or some legal indicator the couple lived together, or if one provided support to the other. The referenced article is very specific about avoiding "matchmaking" situations..
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We also have to be very careful on this. They of course, must be dead, and there must be a record of some type. It's as Tom Huber said. One record I indexed very clearly had the father's name legally removed by THE COURT system. That child had been put up for adoption as well. It was very detailed and also very protective of the mother. VERY PROTECTIVE. Others have clearly indicated whether parents were together or separate. Family search reviewers will give you permission or deny you the permission to do the work on what you submit if it's been under 110 years. Just have everything you need in order when you do this and all will be well.
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