A second marriage cannot be contracted before the dissolution of the first. But the first shall be regarded as dissolved, for this purpose, if either party has been absent five (5) years, and is not known to the other to be living.
Code 1858, § 2438 (deriv. Acts 1829, ch. 23, § 16); Shan., § 4188; Code 1932, § 8411; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-404.
Cross-References. Absence of five years as defense to prosecution for bigamy, §39-15-301.
Remarriage after absence of two years, dissolution of final or second marriage, §36-4-128.
Textbooks. Gibson's Suits in Chancery (7th ed., Inman), § 516.
Law Reviews.
Use of Presumptions in Proving the Existence of Marriage Relationships in Tennessee (Richard T. Doughtie), 5 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 409 (1975).