New NY law requires appointment of counsel for minors seeking to marry

Key_development Question_mark

06/20/2017, Legislation, Other subject area

A bill passed in 2017 amended NY CLS Dom Rel § 15 to raise the legal age for marriage from sixteen to seventeen, and added § 15(3)(b), which specifies that where approval for marriage is sought by a seventeen year old, “The justice of the supreme court or the judge of the family court shall appoint  an attorney for the child for each minor party immediately upon the application for approval. The  attorney  for  the  child  must  have received training  in domestic violence including a component on forced marriage.”

Appointment of Counsel: categorical Qualified: no