Common law marriage is granted when a couple meets specific requirements determined by their state of residence. Many people believe that once a couple is living together for a certain period of time, they are considered common law married. In fact, there are usually more specific requirements than that, and what’s more, majority of states do not currently recognize common law marriage laws.
Though California does not technically recognize common law marriage laws, there are other routes for couple who seek common law marriage. Some counties in California do recognize common law marriage laws, though there are not standard requirements in place to acquire this type of marriage. Most couples who seek this type of union in California achieve it through some type of loophole.
If a couple wants the state to recognize their marriage without obtaining a marriage license, they have two options. They can either sign power of attorney papers while in the relationship, or contract the common law marriage in a state and district which recognizes this type of marriage.
A power of attorney is a formal document which gives an individual authority to handle another person’s affairs. Commonly, a power of attorney is granted for an individual who is physically or mentally unfit to handle their own affairs. Granting a power of attorney is a serious decision, because the person who gains control of the other person’s affairs has no restrictions on what they want to do with the other’s principal assets. The power of attorney can make decisions on how to handle the other’s assets, how their money is spent, and how to handle the other’s government benefits and life insurance. If the other party owns a business, the power of attorney can also take control of the daily operations. A couple should take great care before signing power of attorney papers.
If the couple wants to have their common law marriage validated in California, the court will consider a variety of factors before granting the union. The courts will consider the following:
- The two parties cohabitated in an out of state jurisdiction.
- The out of state jurisdiction recognized common law marriage laws and had established common law marriage requirements.
- The date declaring the marriage can be established by the court.
- If no common law marriage laws exist in the other jurisdiction, the court will decide if taking a Marvin Action is necessary in case of a “divorce” or separation proceeding.
In order to have their common law marriage from another jurisdiction recognized by California, the couple is often advised to form an agreement or Marvin Action before declaring the common law marriage. They may want to establish a durable power of attorney and medical power of attorney, with help from an experienced attorney.
If a couple that is common law married in an out of state jurisdiction comes to an agreement regarding the division of property in case of a future separation, California will usually recognize the agreements. Common law marriage requirements hold that no agreement can be meretricious, meaning it cannot be based on the promise of sexual relations.
