multidisciplinary: do not take! (🌻 532)
ᴢᴇʟᴅᴀ ([personal profile] multidisciplinary) wrote in [community profile] shellphones2024-11-14 11:23 am

text🌻seeking legal advice

Type: Text (backdated to before Farplane event)
Sender ID: Anonymous
To: Public
Subject: Seeking legal advice
Warnings: None

--

Hello.

I am in need of legal advice regarding a private matter:

Is a marriage contract legally binding if one or more parties involved were under the influence of spiritual possession while it was officiated?

Thank you for your assistance.
astudyinviolet: Sherlock thinking with hand to chin (M for Mystery)

text | un: astudyinviolet

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-11-15 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I could think of a few reasons why it would not, but upon reviewing some of the other responses here, the easiest would be to say that you were the wedding clothing for the spirits to wear. I highly doubt anyone would say that the dress and suit worn during a wedding are now married to each other.

[ A second text follows quickly. ]

Or two dresses or two suits.
astudyinviolet: Scruffy Sherlock staring (â©‘ The Green Emerald)

text | un: astudyinviolet

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-11-16 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
You were. The ghosts could have chosen anyone else as one could choose another outfit. Even if you allowed them to wear your guise for the sake of having a physical presence in front of the minister, there is a distinct difference between who possessed you and you.

In fact, I question the validity of the minister if he was aware of this.
astudyinviolet: Sherlock thinking with hand to chin (M for Mystery)

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-11-18 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
If the matter was simply that the minister could not see or know of the ghosts to officiate the wedding, then the minister is not part of the issue.

However, if the minister was aware of the situation, then he willingly went through a ceremony where body and spirit were not of the same person. The question remains then if this was play acting for the ghosts' peace or attempted entrapment for the bodies they wore. The former means nothing truly happened. The latter means the minister should have his license revoked. A forced marriage is no marriage, but it is a very serious felony where I'm from.


[ And for the latter possibility... yeah, the minister can get punched. He'll support that. ]
astudyinviolet: Sherlock glancing to the side (Saints and Sinners)

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-11-26 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
I consider the marriage rendered void even if the minister had good intentions. The ghosts were able to play at having a wedding they could not during life, and that is all that it was. In my world, part of the marriage vows contain "till death do us part." They are dead. They have parted. The marriage is over. If one of them had been alive, they would be free to marry again.

What purpose does a legal union for the living even serve after death?
astudyinviolet: Sherlock facing forward with arms crossed (Love Death and Cordona)

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-12-01 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, Elise should have thought things through better instead of forcibly possessing someone. ]

Yet all they have are their names within some register and none of the context. Few people will look up their names there and fewer still will know the importance. If they wanted their love to be recognized and remembered, they should have told their story and asked others to spread their tale.

So, in lieu of a legal document, let this post be a record with all the facts available.
astudyinviolet: Scruffy Sherlock trying to say he's fine (â©‘ The Adventure of the Weary Soldier)

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-12-07 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
Indeed. Such words will do more to prove their devotion to each other than a pair names written down among others and referenced rarely if at all. They may even inspire others to stay true towards themselves rather than what society tells them to be.
astudyinviolet: Scruffy Sherlock staring (â©‘ The Green Emerald)

[personal profile] astudyinviolet 2024-12-14 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
I shall await your results and their story.