Legal Definitions - consensual marriage

A consensual marriage is a legal union between two individuals as husband and wife. The essential requirements for a valid marriage are that both parties must be legally capable of contracting to marry, there must be mutual consent or agreement, and the marriage must be contracted in the form prescribed by law.

For example, a common-law marriage is a type of consensual marriage that takes legal effect without a license or ceremony when two people capable of marrying live together as husband and wife, intend to be married, and hold themselves out to others as a married couple. Another example is a confidential marriage, which is a marriage between a man and a woman in which only the two parties and the officiant are present at the ceremony and the records of the marriage, including the license, remain confidential.

Consensual marriage is different from a void marriage, which is invalid from its inception and can be terminated by either party without obtaining a divorce or annulment. An example of a void marriage is a marriage between parties who are too closely related or if either party is already married.