Texas Common Law Marriage

One of the questions that I get frequently is if a couple is married after living together for a certain lenght of time. The conversation generally goes something like this: “My boyfriend and I have been livng together for 7 years — are we common law married?”

The answer to that question is a big “it depends.” At one time many states had traditional or “ceremonial” marriages. In addition, they honored less traditional methods of the marriage contract that was adopted through our “common law” system of justice.

However, the remaining states that recognize common law marriages are less than you think.

What Do I Lose If I’m Not Common Law Married?

Unfortunately, the common law marriage issue usually arises if one of the common law spouses dies. This is not a difficult thing for a traditional marriage, but it can be very difficult for a Texas Common Law Marriage. Then, it’s up to the survivng common law spouse to prove that a valid, common law marriage existed in the first place.

Probably the most important reason why is inheritence. Wihtout an express written dsitribution of property after death with a trust or a will, the surving spouse generally has prioirty to inherit any of the assets of the estate.

Also, there are many benefits available to surviving spouses, even common law spouses, such as health benefits, government benefits like Social Security, or even military benefits. All of these are important rights that a couple should consider long before one of them passes away, and the good news is that you don’t necessarily have to go through the trouble and burden of proving a difficult common law marriage.

Texas still recognizes common law marriage

The State of The State of Texas still recognizes common law marriage; however, they have updated their laws and now call it an “Informal Marriage.” You can read the exact Texas statute here for Texas Common Law Marriage.

The general requirements for most common law marriage states are:

1. had intent to be married

2. Hold yourselves or present yourselves as husband and wife

3. Cohabitation, living together as husband and wife, for a significant amount of time, which varies depending on the state.

The most important thing that a couple can do who is living together but not sure if they are married is to protect their rights with some simple documents. A couple can avoid a world of trouble and save a fair amount of money by taking care of some simple legal documents that will protect the partie’s rights. No difficult common law marriage to prove, you don’t have to run out and get married, just protect your cohabitation rights — just in case.

To read more on how to protect your rights and read the Texas common law marriage statute, — or to read the common law marriage requirments for the remaining states who still recognize common law marriage, please visit our website Texas Common Law Marriage.

Dennis Tormey is a California licensed attorney
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