Divorce

[NOTE TO STUDENT, YOU CAN GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO SEE IF common law marriage is recognized in USER’s state and include that info: http://www.unmarried.org/common-law-marriage-fact-sheet/ ]

Generally speaking, a common law marriage is a marriage that happened without a license. Generally, in addition to living together, parties may also have to meet other requirements to be considered in a common law marriage. For example, the parties may also have to hold themselves out to the community as a married couple. There is sometimes a misconception that if people live together as a couple for a certain amount of time, they are considered common-law spouses - however, there are often many more requirements than that. For information on what common law marriage is, you can read more on this website http://www.unmarried.org/common-law-marriage-fact-sheet/ However, I cannot say for sure that this information is correct since WomensLaw.org is not associated with that site.

Less than half of the states still recognize common law marriage. If a common law marriage occurred, either spouse may decide to file for divorce when ending the relationship. A judge could decide contested issues as part of a divorce proceeding for common law marriage couples, including child custody, property division, and alimony. The same rules would generally apply to common law married couples as married couples.