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House passes bill that removes 10-day restriction to submit marriage certificate
The House of Representatives passed yesterday a bill that seeks to remove the 10-day restriction to submit a marriage certificate by any religious and/or non-religious entity.
At a House session, all 16 House members present voted “yes” to pass House Bill No. 22-113 that Rep. John Paul Sablan (R-Saipan) introduced that day. The bill now goes to the Senate for action.
Before the bill’s passage, Sablan discussed a brief history of the legislation. He disclosed that his office received calls from potential spouse beneficiaries as they were having trouble claiming beneficiaries because their marriage certificates were not submitted to the Superior Court’s clerk of court.
The lawmaker said he reached out to the Settlement Fund and spoke to a staff just to confirm if there are indeed such claims that are still pending.
“And I was told that there are some beneficiaries that are still trying to get their spouse beneficiaries. And most of them were married before 1980,” he said.
Sablan said some of these marriages, the certificates from the churches were not submitted to the record of the Superior Court’s clerk of court.
He said because the provision of 10 days after the ceremony deadline to submit was exhausted, these potential beneficiaries couldn’t claim their beneficiaries.
Sablan said the proposed legislation pretty much strikes out the 10-day deadline to submit a marriage certificate.
The lawmaker said he is hoping that they pass the bill in both houses and is subsequently signed into law finally striking out the 10-day deadline.
He said these potential beneficiaries then can acquire themselves their marriage certificate from the church or non-religious entity and submitted to the Recorder’s Office and therefore hopefully get their claims and potentially get their spouse beneficiary.
