North Carolina Court Recognizes Ghanaian Proxy Marriage

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

A marriage celebrated outside the United States will generally be recognized by a court within the United States if two requirements are met. First, the couple must have satisfied all of the legal requirements of the place of celebration.  Second, the marriage cannot be contrary to the public policy of the recognizing state. The North Carolina Superior Court had occasion to consider both of these requirements in In the Matter of the Estate of Georgina Adu Poku, a case decided on February 17, 2025.

Facts

Georgina Adu Poku (“Georgina”) was born and raised in Ghana. In 1977, she met Philip Adu-Poku (“Philip”) and they dated for several years. In 1981, Philip moved to the United States. In 1984, Philip and Georginia reconnected and decided to marry. Their marriage plans were complicated, however, by the fact that Philip was physically located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Georgina was physically located in Ghana.

This geographic separation notwithstanding, Philip directed his mother and first cousin (both of whom resided Ghana) to meet with Georgina’s parents and to present a dowry and drinks. This constituted an offer of customary marriage under the laws of Ghana. This offer was accepted by Georgina’s parents on July 12, 1984, at which point the couple was deemed to be married under the laws of Ghana.

In 1986, Georgina moved to the United States to be with Philip. In 1989, the couple submitted records to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service—including an affidavit signed by Georgina’s father—in which they stated that they were legally married on July 12, 1984. Georgina became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1996, after which she and Philip purchased a home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Georgina and Philip lived together—and held themselves out as husband and wife—until her death in 2024.

After Georgina’s death, Philip argued that he was the sole beneficiary of her estate by virtue of the fact that he was her husband. Her six siblings disagreed. The siblings argued that they were entitled to share in the distribution of her estate because Philip and Georgina were never legally married. To resolve this dispute, the North Carolina Superior Court had to decide whether the purported marriage satisfied the legal requirements of the place of celebration, Ghana.

The Place of Celebration

The court held that all of the legal requirements had, in fact, been satisfied and that the couple was legally married as a matter of Ghanaian law. Specifically, the court held that (1) there was an agreement between Philip and Georgina to live together as man and wife, (2) Philip’s family had acknowledged Georgina as his wife, (3) Georgina’s family had accepted drink from Philip’s family and consented to the marriage, and (4) Philip and Georgina had lived together in the sight of the world as man and wife.

The siblings argued that Philip had failed to present sufficient evidence of the marriage. In support of this argument, they pointed to the following facts:

1. The purported marriage was never registered with the courts in Ghana;
2. Philip was not present at the purported marriage ceremony;
3. All of the individuals who had allegedly arranged the proxy marriage in Ghana in 1984 were now deceased and unable to testify;
4. An affidavit purportedly signed by Georgina’s father in 1996 attesting to the existence of the marriage contained numerous typographical errors and could not have been signed by him because he was illiterate and could not write his name; and
5. Two of the siblings were living with Georgina’s parents in July 1984 and were not aware of any customary marriage having taken place during that time.

The court rejected the siblings’ argument. The fact that this marriage was never registered with the courts in Ghana was, in the court’s view, immaterial because Ghanaian law does not require a marriage to be registered to be effective. The fact that Philip was physically located in the United States at the time of the marriage in Ghana was likewise irrelevant because Ghanaian law permits marriages to be performed by proxy. The court observed that North Carolina courts may “rely upon circumstantial evidence to determine whether a marriage has taken place between two parties.” It then held that Philip’s testimony, the affidavit from Georgina’s father, the fact that Philip and Georgina cohabited and held themselves out as husband and wife for nearly forty years, and the fact that they took title as husband and wife to the house in which they resided, among other facts, was “sufficient to prove that a marriage occurred” by “the greater weight of the evidence.”

The court acknowledged that the idea that a marriage could take place without a ceremony or certificate or the presence of the groom may seem unusual to an American. Nevertheless, the court found that this notion was widely accepted in Ghana. A Ghanaian pastor testified that “it is common practice in Ghana for marriages to occur based on consent of the head of the bride’s family, and the acceptance of a dowry and customary drinks from the groom’s family.” The pastor also testified that “most such customary marriages do not result in the recording of an official certificate of marriage.” Finally, he testified that “the actual attendance by the bride and groom themselves was not necessary.”

Public Policy

Under North Carolina law, a “valid and sufficient marriage is created by the consent of a male and female person who may lawfully marry, presently to take each other as husband and wife, freely, seriously and plainly expressed by each in the presence of the other.” The italicized language makes clear that North Carolina does not permit proxy marriages, which is the position taken by most U.S. states. Only a handful of U.S. states—including Montana, Texas, and Utah—allow for proxy marriages.

The fact that such marriages may not be performed in North Carolina does not mean, however, that that state’s courts will decline to recognize proxy marriages performed elsewhere. As the court’s decision in The Matter of the Estate of Georgina Adu Poku makes clear, North Carolina does not have a strong public policy objection to these marriages. Accordingly, it will recognize them so long as they were legal under the law of the place of celebration.