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A couple realized their marriage was not legal when they found their expired marriage license.
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“We are not married,” Madalyn Boucher said in a TikTok. “We spent $30,000… for a social gathering.”
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In an update, Boucher said the court made an exception and they are now “officially” married.
While going through papers to find the marriage certificate needed to enroll her husband in TRICARE, a health care program for the military, Madalyn Boucher made an unpleasant discovery. Her marriage license had not been sent to the proper court after her wedding, she told TikTokers in a Dec. 9 video, and her and her husband William Smitley’s marriage was not legal.
“This is the part that the officiant was supposed to send to the probate court to legitimize our marriage,” Boucher said. “It expired nine days ago, we are not married. We spent $30,000, not for a wedding, but for a fucking social gathering.”
“Now we have to go to court and get married,” she said, holding up a glass of wine. “Congratulations!”
In the US, most states require a marriage license and the officiant must return it to the county clerk after the wedding.
Boucher noted that her grandfather officiated the wedding and, in a follow-up video on December 10He told viewers that it was the first ceremony he had officiated. The couple was not angry about the misunderstanding.
Answering questions, Boucher pointed out that they had not returned the certificate because the court’s instructions had explicitly stated that returning the license to the court was the “sole responsibility” of the officiant and not the responsibility of the couple.
“I gave him the option to leave if he wanted because it would be the cheapest divorce,” Boucher joked. “And he didn’t.”
“Fours are not tens,” her husband replied.
Boucher explained that the couple did not “place our entire marriage outside of government approval,” but instead needed to be legally married to enroll in health care within a designated enrollment period.
Despite the couple having ten days left before their license expired, Boucher said the court was willing to “make an exception” and legalized their marriage.
“We are officially married now,” she told viewers.
Insider reached out to Boucher and Smitley for comment.
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Read the original article at Well-informed person