Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-102 (2026)
Second marriage before dissolution of first prohibited - Effect of absence for five years
✓ current as of May 2026
A second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first. But the first shall be regarded as dissolved, for this purpose, if either party has been absent five (5) years, and is not known to the other to be living.
Code 1858, § 2438 (deriv. Acts 1829, ch. 23, § 16); Shan., § 4188; Code 1932, § 8411; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-404.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2005–2023 · leading case: Guzman v. Alvares, 205 S.W.3d 375 (Tenn. 2006).
Guzman v. Alvares, 205 S.W.3d 375 (Tenn. 2006). “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 36-3-102 (2005) (“A second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first.”
Emmit v. Emmit, 174 S.W.3d 248 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 36-3-102 (2001) unambiguously provides that “[a] second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first.”
William Craig v. Miranda McCabe (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023). “” See Tenn. Code Ann § 36-3-102. 4. Should the Court of Appeals vacate and remand for entry of a new Permanent Parenting Plan because the trial court judge abused his discretion by overlooking the facts of Mr.”
Kathy Fowlkes v. Flora Fowlkes (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-102 . However, “[t]here is a presumption of the validity of marriage such that where there is a second marriage, it is presumed that the first marriage ended in divorce.”
Glenda Emmit v. Richard Emmit (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-102 (2001) unambiguously provides that “[a] second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first.”
Janna Sheya Falk v. Geary Falk (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “Section 36-3-102 of the Tennessee Code expressly states that “[a] second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first.”
Dorothy Lewis v. Sam Lewis (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “7 Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-102 provides that “[a] second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first.”
Marvin Dewayne Echols v. Elke Monika Echols (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-3-306 (2005) further provides that “[n]o marriage shall be valid, whether consummated by ceremony or otherwise, if the marriage is prohibited in this state.”
Cecilia Gonzalez v. Mauricio Gonzalez (2020). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-102 . The only evidence to support Mr.”
Steve Dickerson v. Regions Bank (Tenn. Ct. App. 2014). “§ 36-3-102 (2008). The “negotiation” of a negotiable instrument is statutorily defined to mean “a transfer of possession, whether voluntary or involuntary, of an instrument by a person other than the issuer to a person who thereby becomes its holder.”
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