Ohlweiler v. Ohlweiler

Citations

• 72 Pa. Super. 518
• 1919 Pa. Super. LEXIS 358

Syllabus

<p>Divorce — Age of respondent — Minority—Guardian ad litem — ■ Marriage license — Contradiction of evidence — Admissibility.</p> <p>In a divorce proceeding, where the respondent is a minor, the appointment of a guardian ad litem is essential, and in the absence of such appointment, a decree in divorce is voidable.</p> <p>While marriage license,dockets are public records in the sense that they are open to the inspection of the public, the only record which imports verity and cannot be collaterally attacked is the record of the issuance of the marriage license. The same verity does not apply to the evidence, or the answers which induced the clerk to issue the license.</p> <p>The record, in the technical sense, is conclusive proof of the fact of the issuing of the license, and is evidence that the parties appeared and made answer as therein set forth, but it is not conclusive that the answers as made were exactly correct.</p> <p>Where a minor has misrepresented her age in the procurement of a marriage license, parol testimony in contradiction of the facts contained therein, is admissible, and such testimony can be taken under a commission to take testimony, directed to a commissioner outside the United States. While letters rogatory may be more efficacious, they are only necessary in countries which will not permit a commission to be executed, or where the witness refuses to testify under the commission.</p>