pregnant 15 year old

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brittany2012

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My husband's 15 year old is pregnant a second time this time by an 18 year old. His ex-wife allowed the 18 year old to stay overnight with his daughter she already has a son that is 7 months old from a 15 year old boy. We found out that his ex wife allowed his daughter to go ahead and get married to the 18 year old even though my husband did not give his consent for this to happen. We live in Texas and he flew to Utah to pick up the 15 year old because he was led to believe by the mother that she would have her at the airport only to find out she got married instead. CPS and the police are both involved in this case as of right now but I was wondering if the marriage is valid since my husband did not give his consent and if there is anything that we can do about that.
 
Utah only requires the consent of one parent, however at age 15 the marriage had to be approved by the juvenile court. If the girl was pregnant with the 18 year old's child then the court may have allowed the marriage. I can't think of another valid reason.

Utah Code
Title 30

Husband and Wife
Chapter 1

Marriage
Section 9

Marriage by minors -- Consent of parent or guardian -- Juvenile court authorization.
30-1-9. Marriage by minors -- Consent of parent or guardian -- Juvenile court authorization.
(1) For purposes of this section, "minor" means a male or female under 18 years of age.
(2) (a) If at the time of applying for a license the applicant is a minor, and not before married, a license may not be issued without the signed consent of the minor's father, mother, or guardian given in person to the clerk; however:
(i) if the parents of the minor are divorced, consent shall be given by the parent having legal custody of the minor as evidenced by an oath of affirmation to the clerk;
(ii) if the parents of the minor are divorced and have been awarded joint custody of the minor, consent shall be given by the parent having physical custody of the minor the majority of the time as evidenced by an oath of affirmation to the clerk; or
(iii) if the minor is not in the custody of a parent, the legal guardian shall provide the consent and provide proof of guardianship by court order as well as an oath of affirmation.
(b) If the male or female is 15 years of age, the minor and the parent or guardian of the minor shall obtain a written authorization to marry from:
(i) a judge of the court exercising juvenile jurisdiction in the county where either party to the marriage resides; or
(ii) a court commissioner as permitted by rule of the Judicial Council.
(3) (a) Before issuing written authorization for a minor to marry, the judge or court commissioner shall determine:
(i) that the minor is entering into the marriage voluntarily; and
(ii) the marriage is in the best interests of the minor under the circumstances.
(b) The judge or court commissioner shall require that both parties to the marriage complete premarital counseling. This requirement may be waived if premarital counseling is not reasonably available.
(c) The judge or court commissioner may require:
(i) that the person continue to attend school, unless excused under Section 53A-11-102; and
(ii) any other conditions that the court deems reasonable under the circumstances.
(4) The determination required in Subsection (3) shall be made on the record. Any inquiry conducted by the judge or commissioner may be conducted in chambers.
 
Okay thankyou so much for that!!! My other thing is even though they are now married can the state still charge him with stat rape or is that out the window now? And what about the mother can she face charges as well or not? There are 3 other children in the home and we are trying to get custody of them according to CPS it is highly likely that we will because this isnt the first time she has been investigated and now according to them this shows major neglect. This is a whole mess and I am not sure what we are looking at with all of it. Also since she continuosly told my husband she would have the 15 yr old at the airport when she didnt have any intention to can she be liable for the cost of the tickets?
 
The marriage does not make a previously committed crime magically go away, but it does greatly influence if a DA will pursue criminal charges. If a judge granted the marriage I wouldn't expect a DA to come around with criminal charges.
What you have is more civil in nature.
If the two are legally married the daughter and her children are no longer mom or dad's responsibility. Daughter and children will be subject to Utah social services. I would not expect it to be easy for you to obtain custody of anyone, especially from Texas. If your husband has other children with the ex who still live with her he has a better chance, but still a hard fight.
The most important thing to look in to is whether the marriage was done legally and approved by a judge. If you can find something improper in the marriage you might find more options.
As for the airline tickets, that is a lost cause.
 
I agree - being in a different state makes Dad's job considerably more difficult.

I do have one question. How often does Dad see the 15 year old (and the other kids, for that matter)?

How often during say, the past 18 months?
 
He has been trying to see them every few months and during summer vations from school but every time he is either in the area or plans a trip to see them the ex-wife wont answer the phone and nobody can find her.
 
Hi, Brittany :)

That didn't really answer my question - and it could be critical.
 
he hasnt been able to see them in the past 18 months because everytime he has set something up with her she always refuses at the last minute or wont answer phone calls. We, well really he was in the process of taking her to court for contempt on interfering with the set visitation orders. We got a phone call this afternoon from CPS in Utah and they said they are looking into everything and to make sure he will be available to fly down there if need be because apparently Arkansas is looking for her from the first pregnancy since the daughter was only 14 at that time and she fled Arkansas to go to Utah but Utah has been looking for her for a few years on neglect this isnt the first time CPS has been involved the 3 times before when the kids were put in foster care she told them she didnt know where their dad was.
 
Oh and another this I don't know if this is relevant or would help in anyway but the visitation orders state that she is supposed to pay half travel but my husband has always told her he will pay for all of it so all the child support can go to what they need and stuff
 
No it isn't relevant. It is best to stick to the established order. When you deviate from it there can be difficulties trying to enforce it.

Does your husband have other children with the ex or is this about the 15 year old and her two kids?

Again, it seems to me that priority should be given to verifying the legitimacy of the marriage. CPS should be able to help with that and confirm that she went before a judge and did not falsify her age.
 
That's what I thought to. He has 3 other children with her a 14 yr old girl 13 yr old boy and 12 yr old boy. CPS is going to help check on the validity of the marriage because they feel as though if the judge knew she had the option to move here get enrolled in school again and have better financial support for her and both her babies he would not have thought it was best for her to marry but I don't know. I feel as though we need to put most of our energy into getting custody of the other children and let CPS and the judicial system work on the things with the 15 yr old.
 
I can absolutely understand the judge's ruling - if faced with the choice between having a husband support his wife and child (it's far more difficult to get State aid in that situation) and having the State support a single Mom?

Yeap, I can understand the ruling.

I don't LIKE it, for various reasons (largely because 15 year olds often can't be trusted to make the right decision about which pair of jeans to wear, let alone something as life-changing as this!), but I do understand. This countries values marriage above many other things. That's not even touching on the underage sex issue.

I wish this whole family luck.

They're going to need it, including both sets of grandparents.
 
Well I guess when you put it that way it does make a little sense. I'm so close to the situation that even though I am her step-mother I don't think I always think objectively so outside help is always a blessing. As more information comes to light about this whole situation it has become so convaluted that I doubt anything can be done anytime soon about the 15 yr old, she has gotten herself into several different possible legal issues, it is going to be rough trying to even fathom how things are going to go so I have convinced my husband to try to stay as involved with the CPS and detectives there and in Arkansas as he can but to focus on gaining custody of the other 3 children for the time being. Thankyou all for your wonderful advice it is greatly appreciated!!
 
My husband just talked to the Judge that his ex-wife told CPS was the one who married the 15 yr old and 18 yr old and he said he did not sign off on any marriage or perform any marriage for them. He also said that he would not allow a 15 yr old to get married to an 18 yr old due to a pregnancy. Can she now get into trouble for lying the the CPS official?
 
Your husband just talked to the judge ex parte?

Really?

I don't believe that for one second.
 
brittany2012 said:
My husband just talked to the Judge that his ex-wife told CPS was the one who married the 15 yr old and 18 yr old and he said he did not sign off on any marriage or perform any marriage for them. He also said that he would not allow a 15 yr old to get married to an 18 yr old due to a pregnancy. Can she now get into trouble for lying the the CPS official?
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You would be best served to stay out of this mess.

The investigation is ongoing, let it take its course.

You don't know what was said or done.

You're operating on innuendo and rumor.

Lay low, and bide your time.

The people to ask about this are the ones doing the investigation.

People lie everyday in this country.

Normally, it isn't a crime, if one isn't under oath (or reporting something to the government).

You might recall, there once was a president who lied about banging an intern in the White House's Oval Office.
 
It was not ex parte he was just giving my husband the information my husband requested which was if he had in fact married his 15 yr to the 18 yr old. He also explained to my husband that he would not have married them without first talking to both parents first. I was just curious as to if it is against the law for the ex-wife to have lied to the CPS official or not.
 
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