Case Update (24 June 2025): In re Guerriero; invalid Mexican marriage still recognized in Arizona under Arizona statute
On a weekend where Amazon’s co-founder, Jeff Bezos, married in Italy, it’s only appropriate that this blog summarize a marriage recognition case. Destination marriages are all the rage. But, in some circumstances, if the marriage ends, the couple may find themselves debating whether the marriage was legal. The general rule is lex loci contractus. As is relevant here, Arizona will recognize the validity of marriages performed outside of Arizona, including in other countries, if they are valid under the law of the place where the marriage was contracted - here Mexico - unless void under Arizona law. The couple in this case married in Durango, Mexico on May 27, 2000 by participating in a religious and civil marriage ceremony. A Durango Civil Registry Official performed the civil ceremony and issued a marriage certificate. The parties, and two witnesses, signed this certificate, but, the parties did not provide the Official with the necessary documents required by the Durango Civil Code to certify the marriage. The Official alerted them of this and gave them 2 months to provide the documents or he would “cancel” the marriage. They failed to heed his warning, and never filed the marriage certificate in the Civil Registry books. They then returned to Arizona, and lived a full “married” life in Arizona for over 20 years. In most cases, this would have been the end - this couple would have not legally married, because they did not meet the legal requirements of the jurisdiction in which they married. So, when the Husband and Wife separated in or around 2022, and ultimately the Husband claimed they were not legally married, with the Wife disagreeing, he would have presumably prevailed.
Arizona, however, has a second statute, ARS 25-112(B), that specifically states that when the marriage was “‘solemnized in another state or country by parties intending at the time to reside in [Arizona]’ and not otherwise prohibited by Arizona law”, Arizona can recognize the marriage. Therefore, in an unpublished opinion by the Court of Appeals of Arizona (Division 1), the court clarified the word “solemnized” (as compared to “contracted”), and concluded that the parties here had solemnized their marriage in Durango, which opened the door to this marriage being valid in Arizona even if invalid in Durango because the parties intended to reside in Arizona at the time the marriage was solemnized and then did, in fact, reside in Arizona - owning property, raising children, and then seeking a dissolution in Arizona. Even if looking at the general rule (lex loci contractus, unless void as against public policy), the court concluded that Arizona has adopted a statute that supersedes common law. Further, the law of Arizona - the jurisdiction where there is the most significant relationship to the parties - governs. As seen in this second statute, Arizona public policy is to recognize marriages that may not be valid where solemnized. ARS 25-112(B), considers “not just the solemnization of a marriage, but also the significance of the contacts a party has with Arizona.”
The court added in, towards the end, that even if the marriage were never recognized, instead of dismissing the request for a divorce, the court should have, at least, converted it to a request for an annulment to divide up the parties’ property.
