How to Marry Your Prison Fiancé

There is a high divorce rate with couples where the partner is in prison for more than a year. Before taking that next step make sure that you are willing to spend the rest of your life with this person even if they are in prison. There are a lot of legal transactions that need to take place in order to marry a prisoner.

Here are some of the steps you may need to take and some tips you may use along the way.

1. Regulations. There are various regulations in order to marry a prisoner, these vary by institution.
2. Requesting a Marriage Packet. Have your prison fiancé make a request for the marriage packet. Both of you will need to complete the forms. Once the forms are completed there is usually a fee, this varies by institution approximately between $150-$175, which will need to be sent to the prison facility where your fiancé is located.
3. Necessary Documentation. You will need proof that you are of the legal age to marry, usually a state ID or driver’s license, proof of legal citizenship, and your birth certificate. Make sure to gather all necessary documentation prior to getting married, you can call the institution and ask for what is required.
4. Coordination of Ceremony. You will need to find out with whom you need to arrange the wedding, usually this is done by the visitation coordinator.
5. Choosing a Pastor for Ceremony. You should be able to obtain a list of pastors to choose from for the marriage ceremony. You will have to prepare in advance and find out exactly what you will need in order to be ready both for the ceremony and the cost expense of it.
6. Other Costs. Make sure to find out the charge for all costs, cover your boundary for everything and prepare for all the expenses for the marriage.
7. Your Witness. You will need to make sure to have a witness, someone who is already on the approved visitation list for your fiancé. The witness will need to arrive with you the day of the ceremony.
8. Alone Time. Being together alone on the day of the ceremony with your prison fiancé will all depend on the facility regulations. They may allow you time after the ceremony for taking pictures or possible some private alone time. You need to check and/or make arrangements for that for the day of the ceremony.

Tips

1. You can find information through the prison chaplain on how to get married.
2. Make sure that you know who is the prisoner you are marrying, if you have only known this prisoner through email or snail mail, be careful.
3. Make sure you know the role you play and how difficult it is to be married to a prison inmate.
4. Gain a full understanding of the changes that both of you will have to make upon the release of your spouse from prison. There are some major changes that both of you will be face with making in order for your relationship to work both inside and outside of prison.
5. If you know that your love for your prison fiancé is real, then you know you can wait to get married, it is not recommended to get married to a prison inmate.

Prepare yourself if wanting to your prison fiancé, there are a lot of changes and much understanding that is needed in knowing what it is to being a prison inmate’s spouse. Make sure to do it right the first time so that no one gets hurt in the end.

It takes a strong woman to be a supportive prison fiance. You need a support system that includes people who understand your unique needs. Renee Patterson is a prison fiance and prison daughter who writes stories dedicated to the prison love we all know so well. Check out some of her ebooks about prison love.

How to Order a Birth Certificate for a Fiancé in Prison

Prisoners are very limited to what they can do when on the inside in order to obtain personal items, money and documents and may need help from friends and family. Trying to get their birth record certificate usually involves phone and internet research, which is difficult to access when on the inside. You as a fiancé, friend or family member are able to petition for a birth record on behalf of a prisoner through your local vital statistics office in state of birth. The process is not hard as there are specific guidelines for making a petition, your petition can be stopped and possibly returned, if not submitted properly. Let’s take a look at the steps for requesting a Birth Record Certificate for a prison fiancé or inmate.

Steps for Requesting an Inmate Birth Certificate

Step 1 – Determine the location of the office of vital statistics where you need to obtain the birth record. You can check with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to help with finding which vital statistics office you need to contact.

Step 2 – Communicate by visiting the website or your local vital statistics office or for the guidelines on requesting the birth record. The information that required, includes: full name – first, middle and last, parent’s names – make sure to also obtain mother’s maiden name, date of birth, hospital name, and birth city.

Step 3 – Make a letter explaining your request. Most times because you are making the request for the birth record on behalf of your fiancé, a friend or family member that is in prison, make sure to include your relation to that person, explaining that this person is not able to request this info for themselves.

Step 4 – Send out your letter making sure to state your request, including all necessary information. Make sure to also include any fee, current address and phone number contact information. Depending on the distance from the vital statistics office, you should be able to get this information in person.

Step 5 – Send the birth record to the fiancé, friend or family member in prison once received. Make sure not to break any prison rules for sending this information to the prisoner. You can find those rules on the specific prison location for where the prisoner is at.

Warnings & Tips

If the inmate who requested from you the birth certificate will not need the original birth record, send a Xerox copy of the original record. Many prisoners stay in shared cells with another inmate, so belongings can be removed or stolen. It is safer to lose the copy then have to lose the original and go through the process all over again.

Make to ask for an original copy from the vital statistics office, some offices will only send an abbreviated copy, unless otherwise requested.

If you're a prisoner's fiance, it takes a lot of outside support to keep you strong for the man you love. Check out some of these Renee Patterson ebooks. They were written by a prisoner's daughter and prisoner's fiance who understands the value of prison love.