Common Law Marriage

Common law marriage is different in every state, but regardless of what state you are in, common law marriage is the agreement between two people that they are married. In some states, it is easier to make this legal agreement than in other states. Texas is probably the easiest state in which to have a common law marriage.

In Texas, if a couple agrees to be married and mentions to even one person that they are a married couple they are married. Additionally, the couple must live together, for any length of time, so that the common law considers them married.

However, if neither person in the common law marriage holds the other to the marriage, they are free to marry someone else without a charge of bigamy. Usually, the only contention about common law marriage that arises in Texas is if there is common property to divide when couples split up.

If one person believes that they should get more of a share of the couple's belongings, they can sue for a divorce so that the courts can help to decide who gets what. The same can be true in a common law marriage when the divorcing couple has children or debt.

On the other hand, if the common law marriage suits you and your significant other for a while but you both are happy to split up and neither of you want to take more from the marriage than the other does, you may simply agree that you are no longer married. As long as there is no legal contention for property, debt or children, no one will hold you to the marriage.

However, after such a common law marriage in Texas, you would be safer to go through a legal divorce proceeding even if your ex-spouse is agreeable in your split-up. If your ex-spouse changes his or her mind within two years and decides to claim that he or she is still married to you, it could be a legal battle that you do not want to enter, especially if you have remarried.