Legal Question in Family Law in California
Has common law EVER been legal in California? If so, when was it abolished and would those marriages still be legal?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Common law marriages that were validly created under the laws of another state that allows the formation of common law marriages are valid in California even today.
The ability to FORM a common law marriage in California was abolished in 1895. At that time the age of consent for a woman was 15 and a man 18. And of course you had to satisfy the requirements, including cohabitation and holding yourself out as husband and wife for an extended period of time after reaching he age of consent (generally 5 years or more). So, if my math is right, if you are a woman who is at least 135 years old, or a man who's at least 138, and you begain cohabitating and holding yourself out as husband and wife in or before 1890, then yes you are still legally married.