Can a marriage be recognised w/out it being legal? My significant other seems to think so?

Answer 1

IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE THAT DOES RECOGNIZE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE: If you live in one of the above states and you "hold yourself out to be married" (by telling the community you are married, calling each other husband and wife, using the same last name, filing joint income tax returns, etc.), you can have a common law marriage (for more information on the specific requirements of each state, see next page). Common law marriage makes you a legally married couple in every way, even though you never obtained a marriage license. If you choose to end your relationship, you must get a divorce, even though you never had a wedding. Legally, common law married couples must play by all the same rules as "regular" married couples. If you live in one of the common law states and don't want your relationship to become a common law marriage, you must be clear that it is your intention not to marry. The attorneys who wrote Living Together (additional information below) recommend an agreement in writing that both partners sign and date: "Jane Smith and John Doe agree as follows: That they've been and plan to continue living together as two free, independent beings and that neither has ever intended to enter into any form of marriage, common law or otherwise."



IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE THAT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE, there is no way to form a common law marriage, no matter how long you live with your partner. There is one catch: if you spend time in a state that does recognize common law marriage, "hold yourself out as married," and then return or move to a state that doesn't recognize it, you are still married (since states all recognize marriages that occurred in other states). However, this is murky legal territory and we don't recommend experimenting with it!

Answer 2

Well, recognized by whom?

In America, we have Common Law marriages - that is to say that if you are living together and acting as if you are married you can be considered married. Some say that is true from the moment you begin "living as husband and wife" and other say it takes so many years (I think 7 is the most popular number of years that I have heard).

I have seen religious ceremonies perfomed to wed same sex couples - which is of course not recognised by law, but maybe recognized by the church. You are not entitled to the legal benefits of marriage, but you have made a commitment to one another and before god - so I would say yes.

My husband and I exchanged our own personal vows 1 year before our public wedding ceremony. We did it on the same day we had our housewarming party and some of the guests from the inner circle knew and brought wedding gifts and others brought housewarming gifts. It was nice to be able to make an event that everyone could live with (his mom would have wigged had she known) and still be able to celebrate our commitment with our families.

Some of our family members recognized it and some did not - but we sure did. That was also the date we incorporated our company - so we became legal business partners on that day too.

Peace!

Answer 3

I'm not positive but depending on which state you live in the is a common law marriage in where if you have been together for 7 years your legally married

Answer 4

Essentially you are asking, "Can a marriage be construed as legal without the paperwork", right? Yes, it can. Common law marriages vary from state to state but usually the common denominator is that the couple live together for at least 6 months and do things that a normal married couple would do. If the woman ever signs her man's name it can qualify as common law as well.

Answer 5

It just depends on what state you reside in. Some states will recognize your relationship as a marriage if you have lived/been together for a certain amount of time.

Answer 6

I think common law marriage is when you've lived together for 7 years and want to be recognized as married.

Answer 7

Yes, it can be recognized by your friends, family, and whoever you tell. However, it won't be a real marriage, as it is not recognized under the law. Basically, it's like a nickname; it's not a legally recognized name (or a real name), but it is used often by people close to you.

Answer 8

The idea of common law marriage emerged in medieval England, because clerics and justices who officiated at marriages were not always able to travel to rural locations where some couples lived. In that case, the couple could establish a marriage "by common law."

In most states in the United States** today, there's no such thing as common law marriage. No matter how many years you live together and how much fairy dust you sprinkle, you will never have a common law marriage. That's good news if you're worried about "accidentally" finding yourself married, but bad news if you wanted the perks of marriage without the paperwork. (However, even if you'll never have a common law marriage in the legal sense, this website packed with information for people like you. You might also be interested in Unmarried to Each Other: The Essential Guide to Living Together as Unmarried Couple.)

In fifteen states and the District of Columbia (see below), though, common law marriages are recognized. If a man and a woman (same-sex marriages aren't recognized) live together and "intend to be married" by acting like they are married, telling people they are married, and doing the things married people do (using words like "husband" and "wife," filing joint tax returns, etc.), they become common law spouses. This gives them the same rights and responsibilities as people who got married the old-fashioned way, with a trip to City Hall and a wedding.

Common law marriage isn't something to do lightly. If you become married by common law and later decide you want to end your relationship, you still have to have a standard, legal divorce. In this way, common law marriages are very similar to regular marriages: they're usually easier to get into than to get out of.

There's no simple test to see if a couple qualifies as being common law married, and the only time the question usually arises is in court. If, after death or separation, one partner claims there was a common law marriage and wants the benefits of marriage, the court would consider many factors to determine if there was truly intent to be married. Since the seven-years-to-automatic-marriage idea is only a myth, determining whether a common law marriage existed can be complicated. Some lawyers recommend that couples write, sign, and date a simple statement that says they do or do not intend to be married, to offer protection should the question ever arise.

If you create a common law marriage in one of the states below and later move to a state that does not recognize common law marriage, your marriage can technically still exist. All marriages, common law or otherwise, are recognized by all states, regardless of where they were created (the debate about legalizing same-sex marriage gets tricky here, since technically, a lesbian marriage created in whatever state legalizes it first should be recognized by all other states).

Few of us live in places too rural to be married these days, and fairy dust is scarce. In the U.S. today, common law marriages are more common in myth than in reality.

States That Recognize Common Law Marriage

Alabama
Colorado
District of Columbia
Georgia (if created before 1/97)
Idaho (if created before 1/96)
Iowa
Kansas
Montana
New Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only)
Ohio (if created before 10/91)
Oklahoma (possibly only if created before 11/1/98. Oklahoma's laws and court decisions may be in conflict about whether common law marriages formed in that state after 11/1/98 will be recognized.)
Pennsylvania (if created before 9/03)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah

Basically all this holds true from state to state. Please allow your "significate other" to read this.

* Standard disclaimer: I am NOT a lawyer. If you have questions about your legal situation, research the laws in your state or consult an attorney.

** All information I have provided you with is based on research. in the United States. Common law marriage differs from country to country. In Canada, for example, what is called "common law marriage" is more common than it is in the U.S. -- about 14% of all couples are common law spouses -- but it also has different legal meanings.

Some information I have given you is from Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples by Attorneys Toni Ihara, Ralph Warner, and Frederick Hertz.


© Copyright 1998-2004 Alternatives to Marriage Project

I hope I have helped you.

Answer 9

My significant other and I were "married." Until death do us part...actually until I left him because he was abusive, and now he's "married" to someone else. Get it legal, in writing, protect yourself financially. I was left with a lot of debt-from him.

Answer 10

depends on the state ,TN it's7 years living together i think, and Texas it's like, less that a year of living together