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Va. Code Ann. § 20-45.1

Void and voidable marriages

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Roper Superintendent Potosi Correctional Center v. Simmons (2005)

Most recently applied in Richard S. Levick v. Deborah MacDougall (February 2016)

1975, c. 644; 2016, cc. 457, 543; 2024, c. 737.

How often courts cite this section

20052010201610
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

A. All marriages that are prohibited by § 20-38.1 are void.

B. All marriages solemnized when either of the parties lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time the marriage was solemnized, because of mental incapacity or infirmity, shall be void from the time they shall be so declared by a decree of divorce or nullity.

C. All marriages solemnized on or after (i) July 1, 2016, when either or both of the parties were, at the time of the solemnization, under the age of 18 and have not been emancipated as required by § 20-48 or (ii) July 1, 2024, when either or both of the parties were, at the time of solemnization, under the age of 18 shall be void from the time they shall be so declared by a decree of divorce or nullity. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this section shall not apply to a lawful marriage entered in another state or country prior to the parties being domiciled in the Commonwealth.

Official source: Virginia Law Portal (LIS). Reproduced from public-domain Virginia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.