Twogether in Texas

I previously wrote about the marriage license laws that will be going into effect come September 1, 2008, in the state of Texas. However controversial the subject, come September 1, this will be important information for all Texas brides to know.

If the couple chooses to attend the 8-hour premarital class, there will be no waiting period on the marriage license (normally three days) and the fee will only be $12, as opposed to new, raised rate of $72. Today, I searched everywhere online to obtain more information on the rules as to what constitutes as an official premarital class, as Mr. H and I already did a whole weekend of marriage prep through the Catholic church.

I'm still awaiting a response to find out whether or not our class is considered "valid" by the state. Otherwise Mr. H and I will have to decide whether or not it's worth spending the extra money to not take another prep class.

While I was more positive about this concept when I first read of it, knowing that the classes and time we put into our marriage prep this past year might not be accepted by the state, and the raised license rate if we choose not to take their course in addition to ours, is a little perturbing. I can understand the desire for couples to take a more active role in preparing for marriage, but this might be a little extreme.

If you are a Texas bride, you can get more information and find the contact information for your local Healthy Marriage Regional Intermediaries here, or you can contact your local county clerk's office.