Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
common-law marriage
I entered into a common-law marriage in Texas in 1968. For the next eleven years, taxes were filed jointly and two children were born, one in Texas and one in Mich. Is this a legal and binding marriage anywhere in the U.S.? There was never a legal divorce in this marriage. Does this marriage have to be divorced out of? Both of us have had one year marriages and legal divorces since. We are both "single" now, but are we "still" actually legally married???
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: common-law marriage
Probably, you were "divorced" even though there was no "divorce" - Texas has a statute that says a common law marriage may be proved only if a proceeding requiring that proof is instituted within a certain time period after the parties to a common law marriage separate. If no such proceeding is instituted, then we call this a "common law divorce" even though it isn't really a divorce at all. In your situation, the answer may depend upon when you separated - the statute has changed over the years, and I do not know when you separated.
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