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9-11-807. Applicability to already married couples.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
9-11-807. Applicability to already married couples.
(a) A married couple, upon submission of a copy of their marriage certificate, which need not be certified, may execute a declaration of intent to designate their marriage as a covenant marriage to be governed by this subchapter.
(b) This declaration of intent in the form and containing the contents required by subsection (c) of this section must be filed with the officer who issues marriage licenses in the county in which the couple is domiciled.
(c)(1) A declaration of intent to redesignate a marriage as a covenant marriage shall contain all of the following:
(A) A recitation by the parties as set out in § 9-11-804;
(B) An affidavit by the parties as set out in § 9-11-805 that they have discussed their intent to designate their marriage as a covenant marriage with an authorized counselor that included a discussion of the obligation to seek marital counseling in times of marital difficulties and the exclusive grounds for legally terminating a covenant marriage by divorce;
(C) An attestation signed by the counselor and attached to the parties' affidavit acknowledging that the counselor provided to the parties the informational pamphlet developed and promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts under this subchapter that provides a full explanation of the terms and conditions of a covenant marriage; and
(D) The signature of both parties witnessed by a notary.
(2)(A) The declaration shall contain two (2) separate documents:
(i) The recitation; and
(ii) The affidavit with the attestation either included within or attached to the document.
(B) The recitation, affidavit, and attestation shall be filed as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 9-11-807
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:9-11-807
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.09.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: d9abb63bd320ff7561d2050117951457bb5b1d71bdb7087f3af08f9a23d18327
Source location: content.xml paragraph 4668
Stored source content
9-11-807. Applicability to already married couples.
(a) A married couple, upon submission of a copy of their marriage certificate, which need not be certified, may execute a declaration of intent to designate their marriage as a covenant marriage to be governed by this subchapter.
(b) This declaration of intent in the form and containing the contents required by subsection (c) of this section must be filed with the officer who issues marriage licenses in the county in which the couple is domiciled.
(c)(1) A declaration of intent to redesignate a marriage as a covenant marriage shall contain all of the following:
(A) A recitation by the parties as set out in § 9-11-804;
(B) An affidavit by the parties as set out in § 9-11-805 that they have discussed their intent to designate their marriage as a covenant marriage with an authorized counselor that included a discussion of the obligation to seek marital counseling in times of marital difficulties and the exclusive grounds for legally terminating a covenant marriage by divorce;
(C) An attestation signed by the counselor and attached to the parties' affidavit acknowledging that the counselor provided to the parties the informational pamphlet developed and promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts under this subchapter that provides a full explanation of the terms and conditions of a covenant marriage; and
(D) The signature of both parties witnessed by a notary.
(2)(A) The declaration shall contain two (2) separate documents:
(i) The recitation; and
(ii) The affidavit with the attestation either included within or attached to the document.
(B) The recitation, affidavit, and attestation shall be filed as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
9-11-804. Content of declaration of intent.
(a) A declaration of intent to contract a covenant marriage shall contain all of the following:
(1) A recitation signed by both parties to the following effect:
“A COVENANT MARRIAGE
We do solemnly declare that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman who agree to live together as husband and wife for so long as they both may live. We have chosen each other carefully and disclosed to one another everything which could adversely affect the decision to enter into this marriage. We have received authorized counseling on the nature, purposes, and responsibilities of marriage. We have read the Covenant Marriage Act of 2001, and we understand that a covenant marriage is for life. If we experience marital difficulties, we commit ourselves to take all reasonable efforts to preserve our marriage, including marital counseling.
With full knowledge of what this commitment means, we do hereby declare that our marriage will be bound by Arkansas law on covenant marriages, and we promise to love, honor, and care for one another as husband and wife for the rest of our lives.”;
(2) An affidavit by the parties that they have received authorized counseling that shall include a discussion of the seriousness of covenant marriage, communication of the fact that a covenant marriage is a commitment for life, a discussion of the obligation to seek marital counseling in times of marital difficulties, and a discussion of the exclusive grounds for legally terminating a covenant marriage by divorce;
(3) An attestation, signed by the counselor and attached to or included in the parties' affidavit, confirming that the parties received authorized counseling as to the nature and purpose of the marriage and the grounds for termination of the m
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 9-11-804
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 9-11-804. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
9-11-805. Form of affidavit.
The following is the suggested form of the affidavit that may be used by the parties, notary, and counselor:
“STATE OF ARKANSAS COUNTY OF BE IT KNOWN THAT on this day of , , before me the undersigned notary, personally came and appeared: and who after being duly sworn by me, a notary, deposed and stated that: Affiants acknowledge that they have received premarital counseling from a priest, minister, rabbi, clerk of the Religious Society of Friends, any clergyman of any religious sect, or a professional marriage counselor, which marriage counseling included: A discussion of the seriousness of covenant marriage; Communication of the fact that a covenant marriage is a commitment for life; The obligation of a covenant marriage to take reasonable efforts to preserve the marriage if marital difficulties arise; and That affiants both read the pamphlet entitled “Covenant Marriage Act” developed and promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts, which provides a full explanation of a covenant marriage, including the obligation to seek marital counseling in times of marital difficulties and the exclusive grounds for legally terminating a covenant marriage by divorce or divorce after a judgment of separation from bed or board. (Name of prospective spouse) (Name of prospective spouse) SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME THIS DAY OF , NOTARY PUBLIC ATTESTATION The undersigned attests that the affiants did receive counseling from me as to the nature and purpose of marriage, which included a discussion of the seriousness of covenant marriage, communication of the fact that a covenant marriage is for life, and the obligation of a covenant marriage to take reasonable efforts to preserve the marriage if marital difficulties arise. Counselor”
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 9-11-805
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 9-11-805. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.