Legal Question in Family Law in Montana

Marriage by common law doesn't sneak up on you.

Living together for a certain number of years doesn't cause a marriage to spontaneously come into being. A common law marriage is an intentional act just as a formal marriage -- you do it on purpose, you both consent. It is as legal a marriage as the traditional wedding.

As with 'traditional' marriage, the parties must have the intent to be married. That is, they make a conscious and present decision to be married at that moment -- the "I do" moment in a traditional wedding. As in a traditional marriage, how the parties live and speak of their relationship creates evidence that the marriage exists. For example, they list each other as husband or wife on official documents like insurance and in their wills, they speak of each other as "my wife, Susan," or "my husband, Bob," or like other married couples they use "in-law" to describe the spouse's family.

As a legal marriage, spouses have certain legal rights (such as inheritance) and responsibilities (such as providing necessities of life). As a legal marriage, dissolving the marital relationship requires a dissolution of the marriage through the court.

A problem arises in common law marriage when one person denies a marriage ever took place. Often the couple has no license, no certificate that the parties and the officiant sign, no announcements in the paper as evidence that you "got" married. But, as in traditional marriage, you might have had witnesses who can attest to your intent to be married (they attended a ceremony) and your reputation as a married couple (they've heard you speak as if you were married, they believe through your behavior that you are married). Other evidence that speaks to the 'reputation' of a marriage can include photographs of a ceremony, you introduce each other as husband or wife, name each other beneficiary spouse on insurance forms, co-sign loan documents as spouse, you might have a joint bank account as husband and wife with a "pay on death" transfer to your spouse, name your husband/wife in your will, etc.

So, if this describes your relationship, but you never intended to be married to the other person, you might not be married by common law. Without more detail, an online answer isn't really sufficient.