Believe it or not, your relationship could be recognized under legal jurisdictions as a common law marriage even if no ceremony or legal compact were entered into prior to the change in status. These are informal marriages which pertain to relationships of habit that have come to be considered as somewhat equal to the status presented by a civilly registered married couple. For the common law jurisdictions that identify these types of marriages, they are considered legally binding. However, in others they hold no legal consequence at all. However, the term is often used to chronicle domestic partnerships and long term non-marital relationships. Within the U.S., common law marriages can be contracted in Alabama, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Although the rest of the nation does not compact common law marriages, every state will identify and uphold a marriage of this type if it was validly contracted in one of the states mentioned above.
You can sight whether or not yours is a relationship of common law marriage by comparing it to its distinctions from a civilly recognized marriage under law. Among these distinctions include the fact that no government authority will issue a marriage license for common law marriages. Even if they are recorded in public, they have not been licensed by government officials. Along the same lines, these types of marriages are not formally renowned before witnesses in any type of wedding ceremony. Possibly the singular biggest and most leading distinguishing factor of a common law marriage is that of cohabitation; however, a concentrate must meet standards beyond just living together. In addition, common law couples are of-age, currently unwed individuals who have mutually agreed to a functioning relationship of marriage. Parental consent can also account for minors who wish to commit to a common law marriage.
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It is relatively less easy to make the difference between these types of relationships and unwed relationships of no common law standing. However, applying the same set of distinguishers listed above to relationships of non-marital commitment will serve the purpose of identifying a normal relationship from that of a common law marriage. If there has not been mutual consent to a relationship constituting marriage, then it will not be one recognized as an informal marriage. Again, the leading difference lies within the fact that mere cohabitation is not sufficient to constitute this status.
In addition, it is leading to differentiate between formal common law marriages and the relationships which have informally come to be referred to as common law marriages. In states which do not identify this type of relationship status, the term is more often used to refer to domestic partnerships and long-term relationships of unwedded cohabitation. In some cases, these relationships have been prohibited by law to marry; for others, the decision was a personal choice. No matter what the reason, it must be acknowledged that the relationship is not one of civil union, nor is it one of a common law marriage. As such, the standards held to those who are living under common law marriage are not the same for those in same-sex partnerships and permanent, non-marital relationships.
For the states that permit them, common law marriages have come to be accepted as equally valid as a statutory marriage. In fact, some government institutions hold both sets of relationships to the same set of standards. For example, the Internal income aid recognizes these marriages for federal income tax purposes and couples may be able to file joint returns or identify as, "married, filing separately." If you reside in a state which allows you to inspect a relationship of this nature, then you should take heed to wholly understand the process before committing to this type of relationship status. While it is less formal than a statutory marriage, it is still upheld to many of the same legal standards, some as serious as matters of the Irs. Therefore, matters which fall under the jurisdiction of a common law marriage should be attended to by a legal separation and house law attorney just as any matters of a typical marriage would.
Is Your relationship a common Law Marriage?