Justice of the Peace
Newsletter
sPRING 2008
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In This
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Welcome, Spring |
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jpUS Hopes to Offer CT Members State Health Insurance
A bill moving through the CT legislature would permit non-profits and small businesses to participate in the state's health insurance plan.
Saul Haffner recently attended one of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz's round tables to learn more about the proposed Connecticut Healthcare Partnership. If the bill passes, jpUS hopes to be able to offer its CT members the option of joining the state employee insurance pool, resulting in reduced health care costs. For JPs over 65, a Medicare supplement plan is expected to be included. The hurdle will be to allow members (as opposed to employees) to participate. We're working with our state rep on this and will keep you posted as the bill proceeds through the General Assembly.
Let us know if a health insurance option would interest you.
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Did you Do any Leap Day Ceremonies? Does getting hitched on February 29th increase the likelihood of wedded bliss? After all, the seven-year itch might not occur until 28 years have passed. Anniversaries become bigger deals, occurring only in presidential election years, and less likely to be forgotten. Leap Year Day is a popular choice for a wedding (true for civil unions too? we don't know!), similar to Valentine's Day. Because Feb 14 and Feb 29 are more likely to fall on a weekday than a weekend, most years a big celebration with invited guests is not feasible. Civil ceremonies, however, proliferate on Leap Year Day. In New York City, 246 couples were married in the Manhattan Municipal Building that Friday, where the daily average is 158. If you performed a ceremony on Feb 29. (or on March 17, St. Patrick's Day), let us know if it was special. |
How Important Is Your JP Income? Reading a story about a late Texas Justice of the Peace who performed more than 2000 weddings in her first two years alone (if you can believe it -- that's 20 a week!) made us wonder: how many JPs depend on their JP income to help ends meet? The JP in question Mildred "Mickey" Barnes, who died in 2004, kept a sign lit up in her front yard, encouraging "people to come in the middle of the night," her daughter said. "That was how she clothed and fed her [two] children." Read more of the Dallas News story. While some states (MA) regulate the fees that can be charged for weddings and civil unions, others (CT) don't. Regardless, extra income can make a difference in your lifestyle whether you have a "day job" or depend on Social Security. If this is a topic you're willing to discuss, we'd like to hear your opinion! Maybe we need to conduct another survey! |
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ON MARRIAGE and OFFICIATING |
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| The Honorable Justice of the Peace? If you trust Wikipedia, here's an appellation you might not thought you were entitled to use: In the United States, the prefix The Honorable is used for some current and, in some cases, former government officials. Though there are few actual legal regulations of the style, it does appear in correspondence regulations and guides to forms of address. The “Federal Usage” is expressed in the United States Department of State correspondence guidelines and includes: * The President and Vice President, (referred to as Excellency when traveling abroad, however), United States Senators, and members of the United States House of Representatives, and those that are “-elect,” that have won the election but have not yet been sworn into office. * All federal, state and local judges, justices of the peace and magistrates whether appointed or elected. There's more, if you're interested, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honourable. Incidentally, this posting on the JP Forum drew some interesting responses. If you'd like to comment yourself on this or other topics on the Forum, send us an email and we'll register you . Tell us your preferred login name and we'll do the rest. Vermont Officiant for a Day? If Secretary of the State Deb Markowitz's proposal becomes law, Vermont will join Massachusetts and New Hampshire as states where almost anyone can apply to officate at a wedding or civil union for a fee of $25. Without this provision, town clerks usually suggest that couples who want a relative to perform their ceremony hire a justice of the peace to sign the paperwork, but still have the person of their choosing perform the marriage or civil union ceremony, according to an article in the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. If passed, will the new law make a difference to JPs? "It would probably cut into business for some JPs," says jpUS member Carla Payne of Cabot, "but I don't think there are any JPs in the state who do this frequently enough to make a living of it." The Secretary of the State complained that many JPs shirk their duties to work during elections and serve on tax boards, both mandatory for JPs in VT. Carla Payne became a JP to serve the community in these ways and says, "I am dismayed to think that not all JPs feel the same about the office." |
How You "Pronounce" in Massachusetts "The idea of saying 'Okie-dokey' brought a smile to my face," writes Newton MA JP Gayle Smalley, in response to Walt Tucker's suggestion for Connecticut JPs. "In Massachusetts, there are two requirements for a legal ceremony: 1) each member of the couple must indicate his/her assent to the marriage; and 2) the officiant must say some words that pronounce the parties to be married. It's important to emphasize that both requirements require an unambiguous action/statement. However, no particular words are required, not for the couple, nor for the pronouncement.  As a JP, my typical practice is to say, 'I pronounce you married' or 'I declare that you are now husband and wife or wife and wife or spouses for life etc. And my warm-up usually includes 'By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' which makes people smile, especially at same-sex ceremonies." Here's a link to the state's official word on the subject. First Civil Unions in New Hampshire "My first civil union ceremony was an intimate gathering consisting of Dana, Brian, a few family members and close friends," writes jpUS member Jane Rokes. "The couple had exchanged rings at an earlier commitment service, so we kept this ceremony short, making mention of the 10 years they have already spent together and affirming their bond as partners for life. It was an honor and I'm so happy to have been a part of this wonderful occasion." Ed Butler, jpUS member and Innkeeper, notes that in the first month (January 2008), about 150 couples had been joined statewide. "At Notchland Inn, we performed two Civil Unions the first month and two more soon after." |
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New Marriage, Civil Union and Vow Renewal Certificates Available See all the new styles available for purchase. They may be ordered either custom-printed with the details of your couple's ceremony or in bulk for you to fill out as needed.
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