Should Common-law Marriage Have The Same Rights And Obligations As Civil Marriage?

[Somerton]

Should the same laws that apply to people who went through with a civil marriage apply to people living common-law? Like an equal division of assets, insurance benefits, etc?

[Evon]

Few states recognize common-law marriage:"To be defined as a common-law marriage within the states that allow it, the two people must: agree that they are married, live together, and present themselves as husband and wife. Common-law marriage is generally a non-ceremonial relationship that requires "a positive mutual agreement, permanent and exclusive of all others, to enter into a marriage relationship, cohabitation sufficient to warrant a fulfillment of necessary relationship of man and wife, and an assumption of marital duties and obligations." Black's Law Dictionary 277(6th ed. 1990)."Before modern domestic relations statutes, couples became married by a variety of means that developed from custom. These became the elements of a "common-law marriage," or a marriage that arose through the couple's conduct, instead of through a ceremony. In many ways, the theory of common-law marriage is one of estoppel - meaning that couples who have told the world they are married should not be allowed to claim they aren't when in a dispute between themselves."Currently, only nine states(Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma and Texas) and the District of Columbia recognize common-law marriages. In addition, five states have "grandfathered" common-law marriage(Georgia, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania) allowing those established before a certain date to be recognized. New Hampshire recognizes common-law marriage for purposes of probate only, and Utah recognizes common-law marriages only if they have been validated by a court or administrative order."In the fairly recent past, living together without marriage was pretty rare. So the few people who chose to live together and hold themselves up to the community as husband and wife without marriage were somewhat accepted in some areas/cultures/ as husband and wife. Then living together became fairly common, then more common. The law caught up with the issues of 'living together' without benefit of marriage. Thus the lack of recognition of common law 'marriage' in 41 states, although five states did pass laws that recognized(or grandfathered) common-law marriage that were established before a certain date. So people living together have no legal right to division of assets or insurance benefits. That's in 41 states. In the other 9 states, common law marriage must meet specific guidelines. Just living together gets you sharing of expenses, companionship, etc. Nothing else.   charlie95 21 months ago http://www.ask.com/web?q=common%20law%20states&askid=607cd065-e26d-427c-88e0-836eaa81508f-0-us_gsb&kv=sdb&dqi=states+recognize+common+law+marriage&qsrc=999&o=11130&l=dir

[jermaine]

It is maybe better to make it legal then...to avoid this trouble....or marry someone else now and share with someone else. Best wishes.   Shasha 21 months ago

[Tully]

I believe civil unions are the same as marriages right now. The people that want gay marriage are really fighting for the word "marriage" more than anything else. They can still hold a ceremony, change their last name(http://howtochangeyourname.com), own things together and do everything that any married couple can do besides get divorced.   knowiteverything 18 months ago http://howtochangeyourname.com)

[Nickolaus]

the government should get out of the marriage business altogether, and replace it with a "domestic partnership" which can be entered or dissolved by any grouping of consenting adults.   TheLightWorks 21 months ago

[stephon14]

If you live in a state that does not recognize common law marriage, the partner whose name is on the bank account and whose name is on the deed to the house can end up with everything. There are ways to prevent this injustice from happening. But it requires planning ahead: - each partner has his/her own separate bank account; - each partner puts an agreed-upon amount in another bank account, a joint bank account - and household expenses are paid from this joint account; - the house is bought with the deed and mortgage in the names of both partners, with mortgage payments made from the joint account.I hope you are not this woman. If you are, then you need to see an attorney. Although you may not be covered by the protections of common law marriage, you may be able to recover by filing a lawsuit in civil court.   charlie95 21 months ago

[Quent]

Common law marriage is pretty much a thing of the past.Only a few states recognize common law marriages: Alabama Colorado Georgia(if created before 1/1/97) Idaho(if created before 1/1/96) Iowa Kansas Montana New Hampshire(for inheritance purposes only) Ohio(if created before 10/10/91) 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 1/1/05) Rhode Island South Carolina Texas Utah Washington, D.C.   TurboB 21 months ago