IN-CUSTODY WEDDINGS BY REVEREND DON
I can help you if you wish to marry a person who is incarcerated in Los Angeles County. However, there is a process that must be closely followed, and you will have to put a lot of effort into making this happen. You must really want this! You must be willing to speak up for yourself as you will be challenged by skepticism and confronted with resistance. I have a complete checklist of every step that you will need to take, but be forewarned that until you can accomplish at least the following 4 steps, I cannot help you, and no one else can either.
1. You must have in your possession the inmates I.D. (valid California I.D. or Drivers License). If the I.D. is with the inmates property, the inmate must sign a Property Release indicating that you can pick up his/her property. The Property Release should be requested at the facility where the inmate is housed. This can be done when visiting. Be sure to ask where the inmates property is being kept so you can go there and pick it up.
2. Know the inmates Booking Number and the address to the L.A. County Jail where he/she is housed. You will be asked for this information many times throughout this process.
3. An Affidavit of Inability to Appear to Obtain Marriage License form and an Application for License and Certificate of Marriage must be obtained from the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerks Office. The main office is in Norwalk, and there are several other offices located around the county.
4. Both the Affidavit of Inability to Appear form and Application for License and Certificate of Marriage must be signed by the inmate - do this first. This can be done when visiting. The County Recorder expects you to take a notary with you to the facility to notarize the inmate's signature on the above 2 documents. You'll need to find a mobile notary who will travel with you to the facility and notarize the inmate's signature with a Jurat attached.
Once you have gotten this far, I can then go with you to the County Recorder's office to sign the paperwork and obtain your marriage license. They cost $70.00. Once we have the license we're well on our way but there are still more things to deal with depending on the facility.
My fee for this service is $300.00 plus $50.00 per hour for any time I spend working with you outside my office. Based on my experience you should budget at least $500.00 to $700.00 for my services, plus $70.00 the license, and you will also need to pay the notary. I don't know exactly what they charge but it's probably in the $100.00 to $300.00 range. PLEASE BE ADVISED: unexpected things could occur that might prevent us from completeing the entire process quickly or at all, but you will be required to pay for my hourly billing whether we are successful or not.
Please contact me if you feel you have the persistence and finances you will need to undertake this time consuming and often frustrating challenge. I have a lot of experience doing in custody weddings and I'll do everything I can to get you through yours quickly, comfortably, and successfully.