People often decide to forego marriage and live together long-term in order to keep the state from being able to interfere with their lives. If you live in one of the states that still recognizes common law marriage, however, it is possible that you could be considered married under common law. This can have an important impact on your life, in the following ways:
(1) You can still end up in divorce court. You went without the wedding, the bridal showers, the dress and the diamond ring, and can still end up in divorce court? Yes, this can happen, in a common law marriage state.
(2) Your ex-spouse can terminate alimony payments to you. Alimony, also known as maintenance, usually ends upon remarriage. If you are in a common law marriage state, your ex might petition the court to determine that you are married to your live-in partner, and thus, your alimony payments would terminate.
(3) You can be prevented from testifying against your partner in a criminal case. If found to have a common law marriage, the same rules on testifying against a spouse would apply to you.
(4) You might be entitled to wrongful death proceeds or inheritance rights when your partner dies. You could be treated like a regular spouse in this situations, if you are found to have been married by common law.
Most states no longer recognize common law, but if you are in a state that still does, you need to be aware of these possible scenarios.
For more information, read http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edra-j-pollin/when-does-cohabitation-be_b_1184994.html.
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