Bill: Draft Marriage Reform Act

[Franciscus]

A
BILL
To

Amend the Marriage Act​

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Marriage Reform Act'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Speaker Multiman155
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Rep. Scassany

2 - Reasons
(1) To amend the Marriage Act.
(2) The Marriage Plugin registers marriages bilaterally, which is not reflected in the Marriage Act.
(3) Forced marriage violates the spirit of the Constitution’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
(4) The Marriage Act requires other quality-of-life updates.

3 - Amendments
(1) The following shall be amended into Sections 4, 5, 8, and 9 of the Marriage Act:

4 - Definitions
(1) Hereby defines “marriage” as a registered union between two consenting players.
(a) This only applies to in-game marriages, it does not apply to acts, such as, but not limited to, The Marriage Act, unless otherwise specified in the respective act.
(b) A marriage is a union of two players conducted via the Marriage Plugin. Marriages are bilateral in nature, but players may have more than one marriage at a time.
(2) Hereby defines “spouse” as the legally recognized partner in the marriage to the player.
(3) Hereby defines "in absentia" as when a spouse has been inactive for over a period of 1 week.
(4) Hereby defines "prenuptial contract" as a binding contract signed by both partners outlining the extra terms of a marriage.

5 - Legal Protections
(1) Players may be represented by their spouses in absentia on any and all legal matters.
(2) Players cannot be obligated to testify as a witness against their spouse in any legal matters.
(3) Players may not be forced to enter into a marriage. A marriage may only be entered into pursuant to the free and informed consent of both parties; absent free and informed consent of both parties, the marriage is null and void.
(4) A prenuptial contract, in addition to all requirements for validity held elsewhere in law, must also be conscionable to a reasonable observer. Unconscionable prenuptial contracts are void and unenforceable.

8 - Children of Divorce
(1) In the event spouses choose to de-register their marriage, they must also inform the DPA of who has custody over their adopted child(ren). This should be done by commenting on the original adoption thread of the child.
(2) One spouse may have complete custody, spouses may have split custody, or both spouses may opt to abandon their child entirely.
(3) In the event that divorced spouses cannot reach a custody agreement privately, they must file for custody in the District Court in order to reach a court-ordered custody agreement.
(4) Given there are no costs associated with having a child on the server, there will be no required child support.

9 - Adoption of (Step-)Children from Previous Marriages 9 - Step-Parent, what are you doing?
(1) If a spouse has a child(ren) from a previous marriage, an existing marriage, or from being a single parent and remarries, their new partner may opt to adopt the child(ren) with permission from both the parent and child.
(2) To make the adoption official, the new partner must comment on the existing adoption thread expressing their intent to adopt the child. The parent and child must both reply to this with approval to which the DPA will notify them that the adoption has been updated.
(3) A parent is not obligated to allow their new partner to adopt their child.