What Constitutes Common Law Marriage?
A common law marriage is an agreement between the couple to be married, which is implied through a mutual intent to live together as husband and wife. Common law marriage offers the same legal protection to unmarried couples as ceremonial marriages. While marriage licenses are required for ceremonial marriages, the absence of such a license does not invalidate a common law marriage. The application of contract law means that parties under a common law marriage do not have to participate in a formal ceremony or contract, but what they have is an implied mutual understanding. Since common law marriage is a contract, the agreement can be proven via any form of evidence, either oral or written.
Although common law marriages were frequent in the early days of the United States, as it expanded westward (when licensing was difficult), and when clergy was scarce, it fell out of favor by the early 1900s . Common law marriages began to decline in the mid-1900s when states began adopting marriage license laws. Today, only a small number of states recognize them as valid.
Common law marriages vary from state to state. Currently, Alabama, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah still recognize common law marriages that were established prior to a certain date. In recent years, two more states as well as the US military have accepted common law marriages, but only if they were established before a certain date (June 30, 2016 for New Hampshire, January 1, 2012 for Rhode Island, and December 2016 for the US military). Arizona, Mississippi, and Oklahoma used to recognize common law marriages, but they no longer do. Common law marriages prior to September 1997 are still valid in Arizona.
Does Nevada Permit Common Law Marriage?
In Nevada, a common law marriage is not recognized under current law. This includes marriages that are formed in other states and brought to the state. A common law marriage is a marriage that may exist without participating in any traditional wedding or obtaining a marriage licence. In Nevada, common law marriages are created by a person’s actions and behaviors, or by the decisions of the parties involved. The Nevada Revised Statutes clearly state that a common law marriage is not recognised. Under NRS 122.050, it is only through the license process that a marriage can be established.
It was formerly understood that common law marriages were valid in the state, as long as the union was created before 1 October 2001. At this time, however, this was overruled as part of a legislative decision. As such, these previous common law marriages are considered void now, unless there are specific factors that come into play such as statutory exceptions and a marriage that is essentially not void. A marriage will not be void if there is a statutory exception made, such as if a spouse dies or if a person can’t go back the ways in which a common law marriage was created.
Length of Time for Common Law Marriage
Duration for Recognition of Common Law Marriage in Nevada
While many states have enacted laws that outline the period of time a couple must cohabitate for a common law marriage to be recognized, the fact is that the question of duration for cohabitation is moot in Nevada. In short, since there is no such thing as common law marriage in Nevada, there is no specified length of time a couple must live together to be considered married. Such restrictions do not even exist in Nevada to determine if you have a de facto relationship, which is the legal term in Nevada for the kind of relationship people generally associate with a common law marriage.
With all that said, many Nevadans mistakenly believe that they are legally permitted to call themselves a common-law married couple after living together for seven years, but this is not true. That misconception about how long you must cohabitate to be considered a common law married couple is a piece of legal "urban legend" that has become common belief in Nevada because it is so easy to understand in a state that has no common law marriage.
Unfortunately, many alternative domestic partnership or civil union couples in Nevada also misunderstand the effect of the Nevada Domestic Partnership Act on their existing legal rights. Similarly, they believe that the Nevada Domestic Partnership Act allows them to call themselves lawfully married after they have cohabitated for three years. The problem is that the Nevada Domestic Partnership Act and similar laws in the rest of the country affect alternative forms of partnerships, but do not change the definition of a marriage in the United States or Nevada.
In fact, marriage as such is generally defined as a legal union between a man and a woman. Any other form of committed partner relationship in Nevada, including same-sex relationships, must abide by the rules and regulations that apply to domestic partnerships. It really doesn’t matter how similar those two types of relationships are; the laws are not the same. Since Nevada does not allow common law marriage, there is no duration requirement specified for these types of relationships.
In short, when it comes to determining the duration of a common law marriage, things are pretty cut and dried. It makes no difference how long you have lived with a partner; the fact remains that you are not legally regarded as a married couple. Even if you have been living together for a decade, there is no way that you are legally married in Nevada.
Common Law Marriage Alternatives in Nevada
An alternative to common law marriage in Nevada that may accomplish similar legal objectives is the domestic partnership law. This is a formal step that same-sex and different-sex couples can take to obtain some of the benefits that are particular to couples who are married. To obtain a domestic partnership, each partner must send in a signed Notice of Domestic Partnership along with an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership to the Nevada Secretary of State. The domestic partnership can be terminated by sending in another Affidavit and Notice of Termination. The domestic partnership law grants many of the same benefits involved with a marriage, and it sometimes provides additional benefits that are not available to married couples.
This method of avoiding marriage is less formal than domestic partnership agreements . It can involve simply meeting with a lawyer to come up with a written agreement that sets out how the couple will legally treat community property and addresses provisions for spousal support. The cohabitation agreement can also address how property will be divided if the couple separates. The agreement must be signed by both parties, and it is a binding contract once it is signed. Cohabitation agreements can be custom-made to suit the needs of a couple. If they break up, having established a cohabitation agreement may reduce the likelihood of a court battle.
These alternatives can be helpful for couples who do not want to enter into a legally recognized marriage but want some of the benefits that would accrue to them if they were married.
Consulting Attorney Regarding Relationship Recognition
Consulting with an attorney is the best way to determine the intricacies of legal rights for a relationship in the State of Nevada. For couples who want to make their relationships legal, an experienced family law attorney can help them understand their options. In some situations, a couple’s relationship may be recognized in one or more states, but not in Nevada . Couples can have their rights recognized in an out-of-state court, but the Nevada court may not have to honor that ruling because of differing laws. For example, many of the states that will recognize a common law marriage are located across the east of the country. Given the complex nature of relationships, and the rights associated with those relationships, it’s clear that a couple’s best chance for understanding and protecting their rights is by engaging a Nevada family law attorney.