What is law regarding sexual intercourse of siblings married in Minnesota
Executive summary
Minnesota law forbids civil marriages between siblings and treats such marriages as void; Chapter 517 explicitly prohibits marriage “between siblings, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption” [1] and the statutory scheme implements that prohibition across Minnesota’s marriage statutes [2]. The statutes cited govern who may marry and list incestuous or close-relative marriages among those void or prohibited under Minnesota law [1] [2].
1. Forbidden marriages: the plain statutory bar
Minnesota’s marriage code lists a civil marriage “between siblings, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption” as a prohibited marriage type, placing sibling marriage outside the lawful bounds of civil marriage in the state [1]. The change appears in the codified chapter on marriage and was reflected when the legislature updated statutory language to enumerate prohibited relationships, including siblings [2].
2. Void ab initio: legal effect on such unions
When a statute declares certain marriages prohibited, Minnesota’s statutory framework treats those unions as void or voidable in the contexts governed by Chapter 517 and related domestic relations provisions [3] [1]. The statutory language and cross-references in Chapters 517 and 518 show the legislature’s intent to regulate validity, capacity, and grounds for annulment and dissolution—placing prohibited relative marriages outside the scope of recognized civil marriages [3] [4].
3. Criminal incest law: what these sources do and don’t say
Available sources in the provided set describe Minnesota’s prohibition on sibling marriage in the marriage code [1] but do not provide Minnesota criminal-code language or penalties for sexual relations between consenting adult siblings; the provided national summary (Wikipedia) states that most U.S. jurisdictions criminalize incest but does not supply Minnesota-specific criminal statutes in these results [5]. Therefore, current reporting provided here does not state whether sibling sexual intercourse independent of marriage is a separate criminal offense under Minnesota law — not found in current reporting.
4. Age, capacity and consummation rules that intersect with the issue
Minnesota statutes also address capacity to marry (age, mental capacity, physical ability to consummate) and list grounds for annulment or lack of capacity, which are part of the statutory scheme governing marriage validity more broadly [6] [7]. Those provisions interact with the prohibition on certain relationships: e.g., a person must be of legal age and have capacity to enter a civil marriage, but even otherwise competent persons cannot enter a marriage that the law expressly forbids, such as with a sibling [6] [1].
5. Marriage recognition across jurisdictions and public-policy exception
The marriage statute notes that civil marriages prohibited under Minnesota law — including those between siblings — are void and “against the public policy of this state” unless neither party was a Minnesota resident when the marriage was entered into and another jurisdiction had recognized it [1]. That language creates a narrow recognition exception for out-of-state marriages, tying validity to residency at the time of the foreign marriage [1].
6. Broader context: statutes, guidance, and legal advice
Secondary guides (law-library and lawyer-referral pages) reiterate that Minnesota law prohibits marriages between certain relatives and summarize marriage requirements such as age and parental consent historically allowed for minors [8] [9]. They also recommend consulting counsel for individual situations; these guides reflect the practical context that statutory rules on marriage validity can have civil consequences like annulment and nonrecognition [8] [9].
7. What the available sources do not resolve
The assembled search results do not include Minnesota criminal-code provisions explicitly criminalizing incestuous sexual intercourse, nor do they include case law interpreting the sibling-marriage prohibition for purposes of criminal liability, child welfare, or family-law remedies; those specifics are not found in current reporting [5]. For questions about criminal liability, custody, or potential penalties related to sexual intercourse between siblings, the available materials advise seeking the relevant criminal statutes and case law, which are not part of the provided set [5] [9].
8. Practical takeaway and recommended next steps
Statutorily, Minnesota bars civil marriage between siblings and treats such marriages as void or against public policy [1] [2]. For anyone facing a real-world situation — whether about the validity of a specific marriage, potential annulment, recognition of an out‑of‑state marriage, or criminal inquiries about incest — the available sources recommend consulting the full text of Minnesota statutes beyond Chapter 517 and 518 and obtaining qualified legal counsel, because the present reporting does not address criminal penalties or case-law nuance [3] [9].