Also known as: satisfactory proofs · sufficient proof
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of evidentiary sufficiency requiring that the presented evidence be adequate to convince the relevant authority that a legal prerequisite has been satisfied.
Sixteen-year-old Maya applies for a marriage license with her boyfriend. The clerk reviews the guardianship order naming a court-appointed guardian ad litem and finds no written consent from the legal guardian or judicial approval. Maya offers only her aunt's verbal approval. The clerk withholds the license because Maya has not supplied satisfactory proof of the required consent or approval.
Luis applies for a marriage license with Dana. The clerk learns from company HR records that Luis has long listed a prior partner as his spouse and finds no record of divorce or death. Luis offers only his bare assertion that he divorced years ago. The clerk withholds the license because the applicants have not furnished satisfactory proof that the marriage is not prohibited.
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A life-insurance payor receives a claim from the named beneficiary after the insured's death. The payor has already paid the proceeds upon satisfactory proof of death before receiving written notice of a forfeiture claim based on an alleged felonious killing. The payor is not liable because it acted on the satisfactory proof before notice arrived.
A dissolved corporation's assets have been deposited with the state treasurer. A missing shareholder later appears and furnishes satisfactory proof of entitlement to the deposited amount. The treasurer must pay the shareholder the amount held.
A surviving spouse sends written notice of intent to claim an elective share. A payor that thereafter transfers funds to the designated beneficiary without further inquiry acts at its peril because satisfactory proof of death alone no longer shields it once notice has been received.
An elderly testator writes a will and asks two friends to sign as witnesses. Although the name appears only in the exordium, the request for attesting witnesses supplies satisfactory proof that the testator adopted the document as her will even though local law does not recognize holographic wills.
The clerk must receive satisfactory proof that the minor has either consent from both parents or a legal guardian or judicial approval. Verbal approval from a non-guardian relative or an informal email whose form is unclear does not meet the requirement. The clerk withholds the license until the statutory condition is satisfied.
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Internal records showing that an applicant has long held himself out as married, combined with the absence of any verifiable dissolution record, mean the clerk lacks satisfactory proof that no prior undissolved marriage exists. The clerk must withhold the license until the applicants supply documentation such as a divorce decree.
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The Act requires satisfactory proof of both the age requirement and that the marriage is not prohibited before the clerk may issue a license. The burden rests on the applicants to supply the proof. The clerk does not issue the license in the face of unresolved doubt.
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…Randolph was known to the Times' Advertising Acceptability Department as a responsible person, and in accepting the letter as sufficient proof of authorization it followed its established practice. There was testimony that the copy of the advertisement which accompanied the letter listed only the 64 names appearing under the text,…