last in time marriage presumption
last-in-time-marriage presumption. Family law. A presumption that the most recently contracted marriage is valid. • This presumption generally arises in a situation similar to this: A person, believing himself or herself to be divorced, remarries. This person dies, and the new spouse makes a claim for the decedent’s pension benefits. Then a former spouse, claiming that there was never a valid divorce, also claims the right to receive the benefits. The last-in-time-marriage presumption operates so that the former spouse bears the burden of proving that there was no valid divorce.
