California Family Code Section 2201

Plain-Language Summary

California Family Code §2201 is the state’s bigamy statute. It provides that if a person marries someone else while still legally married to a former spouse, the new marriage is illegal and void from the start. In other words, you cannot have two valid marriages at the same time. The only exceptions are narrow: the first marriage must have ended before the second marriage (for example by divorce or annulment), or the first spouse must have been absent or reasonably believed dead for five years before the new marriage. In those exception cases, the second marriage is initially valid but can later be declared void by a court if challenged.

Real-World Examples

• Bigamy (Marriage without divorce): Jane divorced John in 2018, and the divorce decree was final. In 2020 she married Mark. Because her first marriage ended before marrying Mark, her marriage to Mark is valid. By contrast, if Jane never finalized her divorce from John and then married Mark, that second marriage would be void under §2201(a) as bigamous.
• Missing spouse presumed dead: Alice’s husband disappeared and no one heard from him for 6 years. In 2023 Alice married Bob, believing her husband to be dead. Under §2201(a)(2), Bob’s marriage to Alice is treated as valid until a court declares it null. If Alice later learns her first husband is alive, the court can hold the Alice–Bob marriage void for bigamy.
• Foreign marriage void in California: For example, Samir Elali was still married to his wife (Angeles) in California when he married another woman (Mayssa) in Lebanon. The California Court of Appeal held that Elali’s Lebanese marriage was void under §2201 because his first marriage had not ended.

Published Case Law

• In re Marriage of Elali & Marchoud (2022) 79 Cal.App.5th 668 – The court affirmed that a second marriage is void when the first spouse is still alive. Elali’s marriage in Lebanon was void under §2201(a) because he was still married in California.
• In re Marriage of Aviles & Vulovic (2022) 79 Cal.App.5th 694 – The court found the wife was a putative spouse entitled to support, even though the marriage was void under §2201(a)(1) because the husband had not dissolved his prior marriage.
• In re Marriage of Seaton (2011) 200 Cal.App.4th 800 – A Nevada marriage entered while a prior California marriage was still valid was ruled void. The court emphasized that bigamous marriages are void from the beginning under §2201.
• In re Marriage of Tejeda (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 973 – The court held the wife’s later marriage was bigamous and void under §2201, but acknowledged she qualified as a putative spouse with community property rights.

California Family Code §2201 (Statutory Text)

(a) A subsequent marriage contracted by a person during the life of his or her former spouse, with a person other than the former spouse, is illegal and void, unless:
(1) The former marriage has been dissolved or adjudged a nullity before the date of the subsequent marriage.
(2) The former spouse (A) is absent, and not known to the person to be living for the period of five successive years immediately preceding the subsequent marriage, or (B) is generally reputed or believed by the person to be dead at the time the subsequent marriage was contracted.
(b) In either of the cases described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the subsequent marriage is valid until its nullity is adjudged pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2210.

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