QuestionHi I'm from Arkansas and my Fiance is from Ontario (Canada). We have been dating for 4 years and are trying to get married. I'm 16, born on June 20, 1993 whereas he is 20 and born on February 26, 1990. As of right now I am in Canada visiting with him and we sent off an application to extend my stay in Canada so we can get married. Since I am 16 years of age, I do know that I will need a written consent from my parents. My mother has full custody of me and I was wondering first off if my father has to give me permission as well? I went ahead and typed up a permission slip for both of my parents to sign just in case. What my real question for you is what do my parents need to put in the written permission slip? This is what I came up with:
I (Mothers name) have full custody of my daughter (My name) and hereby give her permission to legally marry (My Fiance) in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Canada). If there are any questions or concerns please contact me.
I have also included the signature and date. I was wondering if that works?
AnswerHi Danielle~
This should suffice and you shouldn't have any problems. If you have any questions though you need to ask the Canadians what their laws are and if this will ultimately be a legal marriage in the US. Some countries will not recognize some marriages from other countries. Are you planning on living in Ca and residing there permanently or for a while, or are you going to come back to the US and live back in AR. If you plan on coming back to the states, then you will likely have to record your marriage with AR, since you are a minor in the states eyes. I think typically when a parent gives consent to marry it's only one parent that is needed. Your mother's signature should be enough, but they may want it (her signature) to be notarized to make sure that it was not forged (b/c w/o proof, anyone can sign it and you can claim it to be her's) for when she sends it back (I'm assuming she's back in AR while your in Canada). That's the only problem that I foresee that might happen. Otherwise, you should be fine to get married as long as you have her permission (and shouldn't need dad's, should he object to it). I hope this helps you some. The worst Ca can say is no though, you might want to prepare yourself for that just in case that should happen, so that you can find another way to legally marry your fiance.
