common law marriage

Texas Jury Finds Same-Sex Couple Was Not Informally Married

Published on: March 27, 2022 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-170042608-300x200 Texas is among the states that still recognize informal marriage, sometimes called “common-law marriage.” A couple may establish an informal marriage by signing a document entitled “declaration of informal marriage.” In the absence of a declaration, a party may also prove the existence of a Texas informal marriage through evidence that the couple agreed to be married, subsequently lived together as spouses in Texas, and represented to others that they were married. Tex. Fam. Code § 2.401. Although informal marriages are generally treated the same as formal marriages, the existence of an informal marriage can be far more difficult to prove.

Man Files for Divorce from Partner – No Marriage Found to Exist

A man, E.L., recently challenged a jury’s finding that he and his long-term same-sex partner, J.M., were not in an informal marriage. The parties started dating in 1997 and lived together from June 1998 until January 2017. They were not formally married, and there was no evidence they had ever filed a declaration of informal marriage. E.L. filed a lawsuit seeking a divorce from J.M. The jury found the parties were not married. E.L. appealed, arguing there was insufficient evidence supporting that finding and that the evidence conclusively proved the parties were married.

The jury was asked to determine if the parties were married.

Texas Informal Marriage: Agreement to Be Married

Published on: August 29, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-926241578 A Texas common-law marriage can occur when the parties agree to be married, subsequently live together as married within the state, and represent themselves as married. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 2.401. The agreement to be married is a separate requirement that must be proven, although it may sometimes be inferred from evidence of the other two requirements.

CLAIM OF INFORMAL MARRIAGE

In a recent case, a woman appealed the dismissal of her claim of common-law or “informal” marriage. The parties had previously been married and were divorced in 2014. They subsequently rekindled their relationship later that year. The alleged wife petitioned for divorce in May 2016, claiming they had “rendered a common-law marriage” in December 2014 and had stopped living together around the time she petitioned for divorce.

The man denied that there was an informal marriage and filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking the trial court to find that the woman had failed to establish its existence. The affidavit the woman attached to her response stated the parties reconciled and agreed to be married on or about December 14, 2014. She said they moved in together and represented themselves as married. She also attached affidavits from others. She also submitted an email from the man to his child’s teacher in which he referred to her as his wife. She also provided a number of documents in support of her position. Following a hearing, the court granted the man’s motion for summary judgment.

Texas Appeals Court Upholds Finding of Informal Marriage

Published on: June 20, 2021 | by Francesca Blackard

iStock-1270267953 Texas is one of the few states that still recognizes “informal marriage,” also sometimes known as “common law marriage.” A party who petitions for divorce from an informal marriage often must prove the existence of the informal marriage in the first place. To prove there was an informal marriage, the party must show the couple had an agreement to be married, subsequently lived as spouses together in Texas, and represented themselves as married. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 2.401. Furthermore, all of these elements must occur at the same time. Evidence of an informal marriage may include evidence the parties addressed each other as spouses, conducted themselves as married people, or lived together. Evidence that the parties lived together and represented themselves as married is not alone sufficient to establish the existence of an agreement to be married.

In a recent case, an alleged husband challenged the court’s finding of the existence of an informal marriage. The parties moved to Texas from Colorado with the alleged wife’s two children in 1985. They separated in early 2012. In 2015, the alleged wife filed a trespass to try title suit, claiming joint ownership in real property due to an informal marriage. That lawsuit was consolidated with her subsequent divorce action.

The trial court ultimately found the parties had been in an informal marriage. The court granted a divorce and divided their property. The husband appealed, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support the existence of an informal marriage.

Texas Court Finds No Common Law Marriage Existed Despite Representations the Parties Were Married

Published on: December 21, 2020 | by Kelly McClure

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Texas, unlike many states, still recognizes common law marriage (also known as an “informal” marriage). Unlike with formal marriages, a common law spouse often has to prove that the marriage even existed before getting a divorce. A party may prove that an informal marriage exists by showing that the parties agreed to be married, then lived together as spouses in Texas, and represented themselves to others as married. TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 2.401(a)(2).

In a recent case, a woman challenged a determination that she and her former romantic partner had not established the existence of an informal marriage. After they broke up, the man filed for a declaratory judgment that there was no informal marriage, but the woman counter-petitioned for divorce, alleging that they were informally married. The woman argued they had an informal marriage starting in August 2014, but the man argued they had only been “boyfriend/girlfriend” or domestic partners.

Same-Sex Couples and Common Law Marriage

Published on: October 8, 2015 | by Brandon Joseph

The legalization of same-sex marriage may only be a few months old, but Texas’ informal marriage laws may provide for marriage recognition dating back decades. On June 26, 2015 the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage in every state of the Union. Since the rendering of the Court’s ruling, counties across the state of Texas have issued thousands of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Upon receipt of a marriage license, these couples become eligible to enter into formal marriage. However, Texas also recognizes informal marriage, frequently referred to as common law marriage. Texas allows parties to an informal marriage to hold, as their legal wedding date, the earliest date at which all statutory requirements of an informal marriage were satisfied. What does this mean for same-sex couples who satisfied the statutory requirements before the legalization of same-sex marriage in Texas?

Under the Texas Family Code, an informal marriage may be proved by evidence that: (1) a declaration of marriage has been signed; or (2) by showing that the parties agreed to be married and after the agreement they cohabited together, in Texas, as a married couple, and represented themselves to others, in Texas, to be married. (see Texas Family Code 2.401). Upon satisfaction of the second prong, the couple may file a declaration of marriage and list, as their date of marriage, the earliest date at which all requirements were concurrently satisfied. Of course, same-sex couples are now afforded the ability to enter into informal marriage. The question is, however, will same-sex couples who satisfied all requirements of the law be allowed to declare their marriages to a date prior to June 16, 2015?

Initially, it was believed that state officials would hold that same-sex common law marriages could not be dated before June 26, 2015, as same-sex marriages were void ab initio under the law. However, with respect to a recent declaration of marriage filed by a same-sex couple in Tarrant County, Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services stated that “Applicants, regardless of gender, may apply for an informal marriage license using any date applicable to their relationship.” Accordingly, this Tarrant County couple was allowed to date their informal marriage to 1992.