My spouse and I were married in a religious ceremony, in California, without a marriage license, in 2001. We relocated to North Carolina, seven years ago, and separated almost two years ago. Is ours a valid marriage under North Carolina law, which requires a divorce for proper termination?
While NC does require that parties obtain a marriage license prior to getting married, the lack of a license is not grounds to invalidate the marriage. The only void marriages in North Carolina are bigamous marriages.