What Is A Common Law Marriage In Texas?

Represented as Being a Married Couple

The third and final requirement to prove a Texas common law marriage is that the couple presents themselves as being a married couple. For example, if you revealed to your family members and friends that you have been married, and all the people in your life understood your relationship to be a marriage, this would amount to representation as a married couple.

Other examples of this representation could include wearing wedding rings, introducing each other as spouses, and filing joint tax returns. The courts in Texas handle each common law marriage on a case-by-case basis. Whether you have a valid informal marriage will depend on the facts of your case and the evidence you can present.

How To Prove Common Law Marriage Exists

As there are three elements to proving a common law marriage in Texas, couples must prove all three of these elements. There is no objective approach toward common law marriages, and the court deals with these marriages on a case-by-case basis.

Both parties agreeing to be married and presenting yourselves as a married couple can be proven using similar evidence. This evidence could include using your partner’s last name, filing joint tax returns, making joint purchases, including your partner on your life insurance policy, listing your partner as your spouse on public documents, having a verbal agreement that you are married, wearing rings on your ring fingers, and having children together.

If you can bring forward witnesses that understood you were married, such as family members, colleagues, and friends, this can be beneficial to your case.

To prove that you lived together since you were married, you can provide witness testimony, mail received by each party at the same address, and photo evidence showing that you have lived together since agreeing to be married.

Common Law Divorce in Texas

There is no such thing as common law divorce in Texas. Sometimes, couples think that by avoiding a formal marriage process but recognizing their relationship as an informal marriage, they can avoid the divorce process. However, this is not the case. In fact, a common law marriage is treated the same as a formal marriage under Texas family law.

This means that if you are common law married, and you want to divorce your spouse, you will be subject to the same rules and regulations that govern standard divorce proceedings. These regulations govern the division of marital property, spousal support, child custody, and more.

However, if you have not applied for a Declaration of Informal Marriage and want to pursue a divorce, it is important to act fast. If you do not take measures to prove the marriage existed within the two years after you and your spouse separated, it will be difficult to get a divorce. We recommend contacting an experienced family lawyer who can help you with the divorce process for an informal marriage.

Does the Law Recognize Common Law Marriage For Same-Sex Couples?

The United States Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 recognized the rights of same-sex couples to get married and thus legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country. The Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by the United States Congress in 2022, provided further protections to same-sex couples, for both legal marriage and common law marriage.

Because of this, same-sex couples can also get their marriage recognized as a common law marriage by going through the standard process. If you are a same-sex couple, have agreed that you are a married couple, have lived together since the agreement of marriage, and have represented yourselves as being married, you can qualify for a common law marriage under Texas law.