Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 207, § 4 (2026)

Polygamy prohibited; exception

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 4. A marriage contracted while either party thereto has a former wife or husband living, except as provided in section six and in chapter two hundred and eight, shall be void.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases, 1959–2012 · leading case: Goodridge v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 440 Mass. 309 (Mass. 2003).

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Goodridge v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 440 Mass. 309 (Mass. 2003). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 207, § 4. See also G. L. c. 207, § 8 (marriages solemnized in violation of §§ 1, 2, and 4, are void ab initia).”

Cote-Whitacre v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 446 Mass. 350 (Mass. 2006). “” See G. L. c. 207, § 4. General Laws c. 207, § 37, provides that “[t]he commissioner of public health shall furnish to the clerk or registrar of every town a printed list of all legal impediments to marriage, and the clerk or registrar shall forthwith post and thereafter…”

Thompson v. Harris, 504 F. Supp. 653 (D. Mass. 1980). “Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 207 § 4. A marriage contracted in violation of this section is “no marriage at all and is ‘void without a decree of divorce or other legal process.”

Elia-Warnken v. Elia, 972 N.E.2d 17 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 2× “” G. L. c. 207, § 4. If the polygamy statute applies to the plaintiff’s civil union, his subsequent marriage to the defendant was void ab initio.”

Kennedy v. Kennedy, 457 N.E.2d 1133 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). “See G. L. c. 207, § 4. 5 There is no evidence in the record that George ever paid anything toward his children’s education.”

Stamper v. Stanwood, 159 N.E.2d 865 (Mass. 1959). “See present G. L. c. 207, § 4; Commonwealth v. Mash, 7 Met.”

Poulos v. Poulos, 737 A.2d 885 (Vt. 1999). “” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 207, § 4 . Appellant, however, fails to acknowledge the exception to this rule which provides: If a person, during the lifetime of a husband or wife with whom the marriage is in force, enters into a subsequent marriage contract with due legal ceremony and…”

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