Wondering if You’re Common Law Married in Texas? Read This to Find Out if You Are

In today’s world, fewer people may be choosing traditional marriage routes, but that doesn’t mean the concept of marriage is fading. One alternative that many are unaware of is common law marriage in Texas. If you consider yourself married in Texas but never had a formal ceremony or a judge’s blessing, you could very well be considered common law married without even knowing it. In this article, we’ll dive into the details of common law marriage in Texas to provide you with the essential information you need to understand your legal status and rights. Let’s explore this often overlooked but important topic together.

Trends: Cohabitation Before Marriage Rising

From my experience as a family law attorney, I can tell you that more people are also cohabitating before marriage. It’s common to live with a significant other and lead a married-like life without formalizing the union. In different situations, you may move in with a romantic partner and never feel the need to get married. People do this, have kids, buy homes and live lives as basically roommates who have built a life together.

That isn’t what a common law marriage is, but you may not have known that. Very few people have a good idea about what common law marriage means in Texas. There are a lot of stories, and guesses that exist in our culture about what common law marriage is. Unfortunately, there is little in the way of truth or accuracy to any of those stories. I hope I can share some reliable information about what common law marriage is and what it is not.

The important take away from today’s blog post is that you must know what your rights are to protect them. There is a big difference between living with your significant other and living with a common-law spouse. While it may not feel any different to you right now, if something happens in the relationship and you all decide to go your separate ways, you ought to know what that means for both your long-term and short-term futures.

What a common law marriage is NOT

I think the best way to dispel some rumors or myths about common law marriage in Texas is for me to walk you through some things that I have heard people tell me about common law marriage that is not true. These ideas aren’t far-fetched; they’re quite plausible. What’s true is true, and what’s close to correct is false. I want to clear up some of these popular misconceptions today with you.

Living with someone does not necessarily mean that you are also common law married.

First off, just because you are in a committed relationship with a person and live with them does not mean that you are in a common-law marriage. Long-time significant others who decide to take the plunge and move in do not alone constitute a valid common law marriage. I will point out that living together is an element of a common-law marriage in Texas. However, that condition alone does not mean that you are in a common-law marriage. We will be discussing more that as we progress through this blog post. For now, know that just living with someone does not mean that you are common law married to that person.

An engagement does not mean that you are common law married.

Buying a pretty ring and slipping it on your lady’s finger does not mean that you are common law married or are agreeing to be common law married. See, common law marriage is, legally, on par with a ceremonial/traditional marriage. There are no gradations of marriage. A common law marriage is not a marriage with training wheels or a step below a conventional wedding. You will not transform your common law marriage into a ceremonial marriage like a caterpillar emerging from the cocoon into a butterfly. Getting engaged is no different than having a girlfriend. Until you tie the knot, you are living with a roommate, essentially.

The same principle that we just finished applying also works in conjunction with agreeing to be married in the future. I’m sure that you’ve heard people say that they are engaged to be engaged. This means that no formal engagement has begun. However, the couple has supposedly committed to remaining in a relationship in anticipation of an arrangement. You can play all sorts of gymnastics with the relationship that you are in. But the fact is that being engaged to be engaged does not mean that you are common law married.

You need to agree with your significant other that you are common law married.

Suppose that you and your girlfriend move in together after a fair bit of convincing from her. Now that you are living together, things are working out fine. But lately, your girlfriend has been telling the neighbors and friends that you all are married. She’s even introducing you at parties as her husband. This is all makes you a little uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that you have gone up to these same people and told them that you all are not married. Not one bit. So, are you common law married because your girlfriend means other people that you are?

The answer to that question is no. I will explain later what it means to be common law married. However, you need to know right now that you and your significant other must agree to be married. You also need to hold yourselves out as being married for a valid common law marriage to exist. It takes two to tango. If you refuse to assent to the common law marriage, then no common law marriage shall be had. It doesn’t matter how much your girlfriend shouts from the rooftops that you all are married. Unless you back her up, the law does not consider your relationship a common-law marriage.

What if you live together for a long time, like six months? Common law married?

There is no magic number for how long you and your significant other need to live together to be considered common-law married. If all the elements of a common-law marriage are met, you can be regarded as married after living with your spouse for less than a week. Similarly, you could live with a person for fifty years, and if all the conditions of a common-law marriage are not met, you will not be considered common-law married.

All that is to say that you can not create a common-law marriage out of anything more than an extended stay in their home. You’ll get yourself a roommate- and possibly a responsibility to pay half her rent- if you move in for ample time. However, just because you decided to move in with her does not mean that you now are in a common-law marriage.

Keep an eye on your girlfriend to see if she uses your last name in any setting.

If your girlfriend opens a bank account and uses your last name instead of her own, it may be a sign that she is attempting to establish a common-law marriage. However, other conditions must also be met, beyond just using your last name. If you do not live together and have not agreed to be common law married, then a common-law marriage cannot exist based on her using your last name alone. In this situation, you may want to talk with her to see her motivation for using your last name. It may be benign, but I want to check that situation out before letting it fester for too long.

Keeping your common law marriage a secret means that you are not common law married.

If you and your significant other move in together, share bills, and agree to be common law married, you’re almost there. However, the final step is missing: you haven’t held yourselves out to the community as a married couple. For example, if your significant other is uncomfortable telling others about your decision to be common law married, the essential element is not in place. No matter how much you may want to be married to this person, a common-law marriage cannot exist without the ability to publicly acknowledge the relationship as a marriage.

Having kids with your live-in girlfriend means that you are common law married.

This is a misconception that I have come to find out a lot of people hold. The idea is that if you live with your significant other and have a child with them, then you are officially common law married. If having a kid with someone isn’t evidence of a committed relationship, I don’t know what is. Add on top of that the fact that you all live together, and I can see why you think this situation adds to a valid common law marriage.

However, these circumstances alone do not constitute a valid common law marriage. If they did, I bet many of you reading this blog post would be common law married. As it stands today, you are not common law married just because you live with your significant other and have a child with that person. There is a commitment to this living situation, but the responsibility does not rise to be common law married.

When you get common-law married, you can get divorced through an oral agreement.

Not so fast, my friend. Let’s say that you agree with your significant other to be married. All of the necessary conditions are in place for your common law marriage to be valid. You live together as common-law spouses for five years. At that point, one or both of you decide to move on from the relationship. You move out of the home and are content to start your life anew.

However, your significant other/common-law spouse tells you that you all need to get a divorce. It seems that she believes that the rental property that you purchased during your marriage is coming to mind as something that was purchased with income from your job and is titled in your name alone. As such, she wants to make sure that her rights to that property are protected. You disagree that you need to go through a divorce. A common law marriage isn’t a marriage, is your point.

The law would side with your common-law spouse on this issue. Just because you could slide into your common law marriage does not mean you can slide out of it just as quickly. Since your common law marriage was valid, you will now need to file for divorce to end that marriage. Easy in, but not easy out.

What is a common-law marriage? Read tomorrow’s blog post to find out

In conclusion, understanding whether you are common law married in Texas is crucial for navigating legal and financial matters. If you and your partner meet the requirements of a common law marriage—mutual agreement, cohabitation, and public representation as a married couple—you may have the same legal rights as a formally married couple. It’s important to be aware of this status. This awareness is especially crucial in matters like property division, inheritance, and even dissolution of the relationship. If you’re uncertain, seeking legal advice is always a wise step to ensure that your rights are protected.

Now that we have covered in detail what a common law marriage is not, I would like to discuss what a common law marriage is. We will do that in tomorrow’s blog post.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the content of today’s blog, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week where we can answer your questions and address your concerns directly.

If you want to know more about what you can do, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: “16 Steps to Help You Plan & Prepare for Your Texas Divorce”

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Other Related Articles:

1. What Does Common Law Mean in Marital Status?
2. Common Law Marriage: How to Avoid Being or Getting Married Without Your Intent
3. Does Texas Recognize Common Law Marriage? What You Need to Know About Legal Rights
4. How to Protect Yourself or Your Client from Denial of Judicial Recognition of Obergefell Retroactivity in Common Law Marriage
5. Can Common Law Marriage be Backdated / Is Obergefell Retroactive?
6. What Makes a Common Law Marriage Valid in Texas?
7. When trying to establish a common law marriage in Texas these scenarios alone are insufficient
8. What does it mean to be common law married in Texas?
9. What living arrangements may lead a judge to conclude that you are common law married?
10. How can you tell if you are common law married in Texas?
11. Common Law Marriage in Texas: Defining your relationship
12. Can you get alimony in Texas when your common law marriage ends?
13. The Dirty Trick of the Common Law Marriage
14. Common Law Marriages in Texas, Part Two

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