Common-law marriage

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As a common law marriage or cohabitation is known in US law a marriage without a marriage certificate.

Unlike in Germany, where there is traditionally a sharp distinction between marriages and non-marriages and wild marriage or marriage-like union counts as “non-marriage” and where there are “marriages without a marriage certificate” only “so to speak”, common law has marriage has certain property effects such as marriage, especially in the event of death. With regard to these legal consequences, it is similar to the post-mortem marriage in France or the legal cohabitation in Belgium.

However, a common law marriage does not have the matrimonial property consequences of a marriage while it exists .

distribution

Historically, common law marriage goes back to medieval England, where couples in remote rural areas should also have the opportunity to enter into a legally binding relationship without the usual formalities of a marriage .

Long known in the US, common law marriage still exists in nine American states (Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas as "informal marriage" and Utah) and in Washington, DC Five other states only recognize common law marriage if it was established before a certain date and have since abolished it (Georgia, if established before January 1, 1997; Idaho January 1, 1996; New Hampshire only with regard to the legal consequences of inheritance; Oklahoma November 1, 1998; Ohio October 10, 1991 and Pennsylvania January 1, 2005).

Only in Iowa, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia is common law marriage open to same-sex couples.

According to the full faith and credit clause in Art. IV of the American Constitution , all US states are required to recognize the common law marriage entered into in another US state.

requirements

Depending on the particularities of the national regulations, decisive prerequisites for a common law marriage are:

  1. actual coexistence for a certain period of time
  2. Eligibility to marry , of legal age , partners are single, divorced or widowed (not otherwise married)
  3. Outward presentation as spouse as joint married name , joint account , mutual designation as "husband and wife"

Legal effects

A common law marriage cannot be justified by simply living together and, like a marriage, needs to be annulled by judicial acts . In the event of death, the surviving partner must prove common law marriage in order to have the same inheritance and pension rights as a widowed spouse. In addition to the legal requirements, evidence can include a joint household , joint children or joint tax assessment .

As a rule, corresponding written contracts are concluded between the partners during their lifetime.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ common law marriage dict.cc, German-English dictionary
  2. ^ Ernst Benda / Werner Maihofer / Hans-Jochen Vogel (eds.): Handbook of Constitutional Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. Study edition . Walter de Gruyter. Berlin / New York 1984. p. 581
  3. ↑ Definitions for common-law marriage thesaurus.com
  4. ^ Mary S. Yamin-Garone: Fact or Fiction: Five Myths about Common Law Marriage , December 2009
  5. ^ Mary S. Yamin-Garone: Fact or Fiction: Five Myths about Common Law Marriage , December 2009
  6. ^ Full Faith and Credit Clause The free Dictionary by Farlex
  7. ^ Mary S. Yamin-Garone: Fact or Fiction: Five Myths about Common Law Marriage , December 2009