Marriage and family laws can sometimes be complicated to understand, depending on where you live. Common-law marriage is something particularly bothersome for some people, as the concept varies greatly from one place to another and there’s no unified situation wherever you’d go. In general, common-law marriage refers to a situation where a couple is living together as married without having legally married themselves. And even though some jurisdictions may recognize this easily without any hassle, this isn’t the case in other instances and you should do your research very carefully if you want to engage in common-law marriage with your spouse.
First, as we mentioned above, the primary factor with regards to your common-law marriage options is your place of residence. For example, US citizens from the states of Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Texas and a number of others are allowed to legally conduct common-law marriage. Some other states recognize the practice as well though not directly, even though the conditions for couples married in a common-law engagement remain mostly good.
You should also know that a common-law marriage can’t be broken up with a divorce, as there’s no common-law divorce. If you’ve been bound by a common-law marriage and would like to end it, you’ll have to file in court for dissolution of marriage, even though in a few states the marriage can be simply annulled if it doesn’t get legally established during the period of separation. In the end, research is what you’re going to need to find out what your options are.
Friday, April 1, 2011
What Is Common-Law Marriage?
Monday, March 21, 2011
History of Common-Law Marriage
Have you ever wondered how common-law marriage came around and what lead to the development of this concept? It actually dates quite a while back, around the medieval times, when law used to recognize people as living together as married provided they claimed that themselves (with mutual consent of course). Interestingly enough, despite the practice being popular primarily in the US, it originated in Europe and that’s where it really took off.
Common-law marriage took some changes as family laws changed as well – for example, at one point, it was stated that even though couples weren’t obliged to go through a complete marriage ceremony to get married, they still needed the overseeing of a pastor from the local ordinary in order for their marriage to be validated. This obviously differed depending on one’s religion though, but that was the general case.
This was further solidified by the so-called Marriage Act 1753, which stated that marriages should be performed by a priest of the Church, with some small exceptions. The act spread out quite rapidly and is nowadays recognized in various places around the world.
Today, common-law marriage is still valid in various places, though there are obviously differences from one jurisdiction to the other. In the US, for example, only citizens of the states of Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Utah are allowed to engage in common-law marriage. In Canada, it’s recognized by a number of provinces as well. In general though, you should take the time to research your local regulations properly before taking any steps.
Joe D Milner's Lawfirm in Austin TX: http://www.milnerlawfirm.com/attorneys-and-staff/joe-milner.html
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joedmilner
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
An Example of Service
Joe has served as
- President of the Rotary Club of Austin
- Assistant District Governor for Rotary International
- on the original Board of Hospice Austin
- President of the Austin Mental Health Association,
- Board Member and Legal Counsel of District Nine Grievance Committee of the State Bar of Texas
- Secretary and Board Member for Christina’s Smile for the past 17 years
- volunteer for dozens of local organizations, fundraisers, and projects
Joe Milner has practiced law in Austin, Texas for 41 years. For the past 23 years he has held the top AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the premier and nationally-recognized rating service, based on the opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary.
Joe has handled very complex family law cases. There have been cases involving extensive property issues, custody disputes, child custody and support modifications, and property division. His extensive trial experience in numerous trials across Texas, coupled with his work as a mediator and collaborative law practitioner enable him to be an excellent advocate for clients with any family law issue.
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