Is It Marriage Or Not?
Is common law marriage really marriage? You bet it is!
Common law marriage, now called Informal Marriage, bestows all the rights, privileges, obligations and duties by law to the same extent as does a marriage by ceremony.
Confusion arises how a couple can be married by common law. Additionally, there is that subtle social stigma of shame which denies spiritual purity for couples who live together outside a formal marriage ceremony. The stigma itself generates even more confusion because it also embraces the contrasting concept that such a sinful union can be magically converted to acceptable if the couple live together long enough -- whatever that is.
In truth, a man and woman can live together forever without a marital union evolving. Likewise, a man and woman can live together less than a day and be married. So, the length of time a couple is together is not a decisive factor in determining whether a couple is sheltered under the marriage umbrella.
In 1847, our Texas Supreme Court officially blessed common law marriage with legal dignity by declaring it equivalent to marriage by ceremony. At that time, proof of the common law union could be made by illustrating the reputation, declarations, and conduct of the couple, as well as their circumstances.
Today, informal marriage is in place by both Texas case law (law decreed by a court) and statutory law (law written by our legislature).
The Texas Family Code sets forth that when a man and woman agree to be married and then live together as husband and wife in Texas and represent to others they are married, it is so.
Current proof needed to show an informal marriage occurred or exists is about the same as in 1847, and can be done by illustrating the couple agreed to be married and then acted as husband and wife both in private and public.
A lot of potential evidence is readily available to verify the informal marriage. Documentation that expressly states or strongly implies the couple are husband and wife can support a verbal claim. Such documentation may include an apartment or vehicle lease, real estate deeds, last will & testaments, powers of attorney, bank accounts, utility bills, income tax returns, statements of family and friends, insurance policies and employer death benefit directives.
Some situations require specific documentation. For instance, if a common law spouse dies, the surviving spouse will want to seek widow or widower benefits through the Social Security Administration. Similarly, if a minor child or an adult child disabled before age twenty-two was born during the marriage, social security benefits may be available. Life and burial insurance benefits may be a resource to explore. In such circumstances, it is necessary to contact the government agency or insurance company to ascertain the required proof, but all entities must recognize the legitimacy of common law marriage.
There is an optional process available to the informally married couple to file with the County Clerk a written declaration of their union and doing so may remove guess work from situations where the marriage is questioned, but the declaration doesn't make the couple more married. In most circumstances, the registration will overcome resistance to recognize the marriage.
In order to enter into an informal marriage, Texas requires the couple each be at least eighteen years old, one male and one female, and that neither of them already be married (formally or informally) to some other person.
Texans amended their constitution in 2005 to specify that a union between two people of the same gender cannot qualify as a marriage. Subsequently, the legislature followed suit by adding to the Texas Family Code that "a marriage between persons of the same sex or a civil union is contrary to the public policy of this State and is void in this State."
Although a parent may consent to his or her child becoming married by ceremony when the child is sixteen, a person under the age of eighteen cannot enter into an informal marriage with or without parental consent. (The minimum age for parental consent for ceremonial marriage increased from fourteen to sixteen years in 1997).
Regardless of the method used to tie-the-knot, once tied, married is married and there are only two ways the marital relationship can be terminated. There is no common law or informal divorce. First, when either spouse dies, the marriage is automatically terminated. Second, if a spouse seeks judicial relief, a court may decree a divorce and thereby terminate the marital union.
Confusion arises how a couple can be married by common law. Additionally, there is that subtle social stigma of shame which denies spiritual purity for couples who live together outside a formal marriage ceremony. The stigma itself generates even more confusion because it also embraces the contrasting concept that such a sinful union can be magically converted to acceptable if the couple live together long enough -- whatever that is.
In truth, a man and woman can live together forever without a marital union evolving. Likewise, a man and woman can live together less than a day and be married. So, the length of time a couple is together is not a decisive factor in determining whether a couple is sheltered under the marriage umbrella.
In 1847, our Texas Supreme Court officially blessed common law marriage with legal dignity by declaring it equivalent to marriage by ceremony. At that time, proof of the common law union could be made by illustrating the reputation, declarations, and conduct of the couple, as well as their circumstances.
Today, informal marriage is in place by both Texas case law (law decreed by a court) and statutory law (law written by our legislature).
The Texas Family Code sets forth that when a man and woman agree to be married and then live together as husband and wife in Texas and represent to others they are married, it is so.
Current proof needed to show an informal marriage occurred or exists is about the same as in 1847, and can be done by illustrating the couple agreed to be married and then acted as husband and wife both in private and public.
A lot of potential evidence is readily available to verify the informal marriage. Documentation that expressly states or strongly implies the couple are husband and wife can support a verbal claim. Such documentation may include an apartment or vehicle lease, real estate deeds, last will & testaments, powers of attorney, bank accounts, utility bills, income tax returns, statements of family and friends, insurance policies and employer death benefit directives.
Some situations require specific documentation. For instance, if a common law spouse dies, the surviving spouse will want to seek widow or widower benefits through the Social Security Administration. Similarly, if a minor child or an adult child disabled before age twenty-two was born during the marriage, social security benefits may be available. Life and burial insurance benefits may be a resource to explore. In such circumstances, it is necessary to contact the government agency or insurance company to ascertain the required proof, but all entities must recognize the legitimacy of common law marriage.
There is an optional process available to the informally married couple to file with the County Clerk a written declaration of their union and doing so may remove guess work from situations where the marriage is questioned, but the declaration doesn't make the couple more married. In most circumstances, the registration will overcome resistance to recognize the marriage.
In order to enter into an informal marriage, Texas requires the couple each be at least eighteen years old, one male and one female, and that neither of them already be married (formally or informally) to some other person.
Texans amended their constitution in 2005 to specify that a union between two people of the same gender cannot qualify as a marriage. Subsequently, the legislature followed suit by adding to the Texas Family Code that "a marriage between persons of the same sex or a civil union is contrary to the public policy of this State and is void in this State."
Although a parent may consent to his or her child becoming married by ceremony when the child is sixteen, a person under the age of eighteen cannot enter into an informal marriage with or without parental consent. (The minimum age for parental consent for ceremonial marriage increased from fourteen to sixteen years in 1997).
Regardless of the method used to tie-the-knot, once tied, married is married and there are only two ways the marital relationship can be terminated. There is no common law or informal divorce. First, when either spouse dies, the marriage is automatically terminated. Second, if a spouse seeks judicial relief, a court may decree a divorce and thereby terminate the marital union.
© Coninc., TheDownsideUp.Com 2007
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posted by KKHC | 2:40 PM
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