RECORDER WANTS OPTIONS FOR CONSTITUENTS
Couples in love used to consider legally mandated marriage licenses a mere formality. Many viewed the wedding ceremony, with all the usual trappings, as the beginning of marriage—from the formal ware-clad “I-do’s” to floral bouquets and followed by the verbal pronouncement by an officiant in front of family and friends.
But times have changed and the Platte County Recorder of Deeds, and his colleagues throughout the state, note a new trend among those who visit their offices for a marriage license. Instead of a pre-cursor to a wedding, many seek a quick civil ceremony from the office staff or a recommendation for a judge or other officiant to perform a brief, quiet civil ceremony.
Platte County Recorder Christopher L. Wright has noticed the trend since he first took office more than a year ago and feels obliged to accommodate the requests. County recorders are elected officials not only charged with recording and maintaining real estate transactions but also records such as issuing and maintaining marriage license information.
Wright has even sought state legislation to create an easier path to marriage in Missouri.
“People have a right to get married and (some) don’t have a lot of money,” Wright said of just one of many reasons couples offer for the abandonment of a traditional wedding. Some are not church-affiliated, which traditionally has been the location of weddings as faith-based ceremonies, he said. Others, such as military members who come from nearby Fort Leavenworth, are short on time due to impending deployments.
Finally, since about 50 percent of U.S. marriages end in divorce, some for whom the marriage is not a first opt to forgo a traditional wedding, he said.
A recent trend in online ordination, which allows for friends and family to conduct marriages following online training, also has brought challenges. This format has created a flurry of “everybody and their cousin” seeking certification, Wright said.
He and others across the state are struggling with first- and one-time-only officiants who often don’t fill out the paperwork properly. The process still requires an official—whether an online trained one-time officiant, a minister, family, or friend, to fill out the official paperwork. The current formula allows applicants to leave the premises of the recorder of deeds with the paperwork, which must be returned within a deadline. But especially one-time officiants aren’t accustomed to the forms, which causes many mistakes.
“Our staff is spending an inordinate amount of time” contacting the bride, groom or officiant seeking information requested on the form, Wright said. Ministers or judges who routinely fill out the license applications are more accustomed to the forms and usually do not make mistakes.
The online officiant trend has led to extra work for many county recorders causing Wright to be on a quest to “help those people who just want to streamline the process.” He and State Rep. Sean Pouche, a Republican who represents a portion of Platte County and a portion of nearby Buchanan County, collaborated on a bill introduced by Pouche during the last legislative session which just ended in May. The bill would have granted the legal right to the state’s 115 recorders and staff to perform wedding ceremonies in their county offices.
But Pouche pulled the bill from the roster after Wright heard from other recorders who, for several reasons which Wright declined to name, were not fond of adding the task of “wedding officiant” to their list of duties.
In response, a committee of members representing various county offices from the Recorders Association of Missouri are meeting this summer to suggest the details of a new bill which Pouche plans to introduce in December, during the upcoming legislative session.
Wright said he anticipates the new bill would require applicants to fill out the paperwork while in the recorder’s offices. He calls the process “marriage by declaration,” meaning “as soon as you sign on the dotted line, you’re married,” he said. “This way, the paperwork never leaves our office,” he said.
The new proposed marriage by declaration also eliminates the need for signatures by judges, who also sometimes perform civil ceremonies. The process of being married by a judge sometimes is controversial when, for example, some judges have balked at performing same-sex marriages, Wright said. He added, “This takes religion and everything else out.”