Universal Life Church- online ordination

tam427

My FI and I are not very religious. Our friend wants to officiate our cermony. Has anyone used or known someone that uses Universal Life Church Monastery to get ordained online? Supposedly it's what the celebrities use. I just want to make sure it's legit. I live in Texas if that makes a difference. THANKS!

aerinpegadrak

Check with your county office.  We had DH's uncle ordained through ULC, but we had to do some additional legwork with the county (and pay for additional paperwork from ULC) for him to be legally able to perform the wedding.

2dBride

You might want to check out this New York Times article.  Under some state laws, online ordinations are not accepted at all.  Under others, it is unclear whether they are accepted.  And if they are not, you typically will not find out until the issue is forced by death, divorce, or bankruptcy, at which point you may find out you do not have the rights you thought you had.

Given that you live in Texas, you may instead want to use the common law/informal marriage procedures.  To do this, you could sign a declaration (available at the county clerk's office) under oath.

The Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage asks for full names, woman's maiden surname, addresses, dates of birth, places of birth, social security numbers, and relationship information.

The Declaration states: "I solemnly swear (or affirm) that we, the undersigned, are married to each other by virtue of the following facts: On or about (Date) we agreed to be married, and after that date we lived together as husband and wife and in this state we represented to others that we were married. Since the date of marriage to the other party I have not been married to any other person. This declaration is true and the information in it which I have given is correct."

If you follow this procedure, you can have anyone as your officiant, without needing to worry about an online ordination.  Legally, the function of your ceremony will be only to get witnesses to the fact that you agreed to be married and represented to others that you were married, so you wouldn't actually need an officiant.  And if you choose to have one, no one could question the officiant's qualifications.

July032011

It depends on the state where you live.  We live in Michigan and are doing the same thing. I contacted my local senator who pointed me in the direction of the Governors Office.  They told me that in Michigan, this is perfectly legal!  No extra leg work needed.  He just needs to sign the form and fill it our like a "real" minister would do and send it in!