Marriage and Family Relationship

Marriage means the relationship between husband and wife after marriage. The marriage relationship between husband and wife is established from the time of the marriage until the termination of the marriage. A family is defined a group of people closely bound together by marriage, blood ties or a nurturing relationship. This article by LeTran will clarify some of the issues surrounding the marriage and family.

Marriage and  family relationship

Establishing a marriage relationship

Often, the wedding ceremony is seen as the event that marks the official beginning of the marriage. However, in terms of the law, the marriage begins upon completion of the marriage registration. This is when a husband-and-wife relationship is established between a man and woman that satisfies the legal requirements for marriage and is registered with the local competent authority.

Marriage is a voluntary relationship between the two parties. Both men and women have the right to decide on their own marriage, without being forced, deceived, or hindered. After getting married, the maintenance or termination of the marriage relationship is based on the voluntariness of each spouse. Concurrent with marriage are the entirety of marital personal and property rights and obligations.

The purpose of establishing a marriage relationship is to live together and build a prosperous, equal, progressive, happy and sustainable family. Therefore, should a man and woman get married for the purpose of exiting, entering, establishing residence, obtaining Vietnamese or foreign nationality, enjoying the State’s preferential regime, or to achieve other purposes other than living together and building a family is considered a sham marriage. The 2014 Law on Marriage and Family prohibits sham marriages. (Article 5 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family).

Unlike the 2000 Law on Marriage and Family, the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family does not recognize common law marriage (a man and woman living together as husband and wife but do not register their marriage).

What is a monogamous marriage?

A monogamous marriage is a marriage established between a man and a woman on the basis of the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family. When a marriage relationship exists, a husband and wife may not marry or live together with someone else as a spouse.

A person who wants to get married to another person is responsible for proving that he/she has never been married (for a person who has not been married since being eligible for getting married) or has been married, but the marriage has ended (for a person who has been married before but his/her spouse has died or the marriage ended in divorce). The State prohibits married persons to marry or live with other people as husband and wife, and prohibits unmarried persons to marry or live as husband and wife with a married person. All acts of violating the monogamous marriage regime will be handled in accordance with the law.

What is a voluntary and progressive marriage?

A voluntary and progressive marriage is a marriage that meets the following conditions:

• The marriage is established on the basis of a voluntarily decision between the man and the woman, with no obstruction, force or deception involved in the man or the woman in getting married;
• The husband and wife’s cohabitation and fulfillment of marital and family obligations are voluntary;
• When the marital purpose is not achieved, the individual spouse or both husband and wife have the right to request the Court to terminate the marriage of either spouse or both spouses, which must stem from the marital relationship no longer being maintained, the affection between the parties has ended, or the conflict has become serious. The State prohibits deception, forcing divorce, and sham divorce. In short, voluntary, progressive marriage is a marriage that meets the voluntariness of getting married, living together, and divorce.

What is the definition of a family and what are the functions of the family?

What is the definition of a family?

A family is defined a group of people closely bound together by marriage, blood ties or a nurturing relationship, thus giving rise to obligations and rights among them as prescribed in the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family.

Members of the family include the husband, wife and children; siblings; grandparents and grandchildren. Coexisting with the family are the social relationships between the above subjects in terms of personal and property obligations and rights.

In addition, the Law on Marriage and Family also regulates the relations between the stepchildren of the husband/wife and the stepfather/stepmother if they live together and raise and care for the children like father and mother.

What are the functions of the family?

The family has the following functions:

• The function of maintaining the reproduction: this is the most crucial function of the family. Through the event of childbirth, the family creates people, maintains social development, and reproduction. People are society’s most valuable asset. The family’s ability to perform this function is the difference between the survival and development of society and its destruction;

  Childbirth is a natural survival function as well as a social law. The family’s ability to perform this function depends on the economic and social conditions of each country;

  Human reproduction will always be associated with nurturing and education for the purpose of the healthy physical, intellectual, and moral development of each individual to become useful citizens of society.

• Educational function: The family is each person’s first school; the family’s role is to educate future generations from the moment each member is born until they reach adulthood;

  Adults are the ones who are in charge of education in the family. Depending on each family and the children being educated, the family will have appropriate educational methods. However, the State strictly prohibits illegal educational methods.

• Economic function: This function enables the family to survive, develop and successfully perform the function of maintaining the reproduction and the function of education.