Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Legally married
When filing a Tax Refund, two people ''Man and Woman'' file married filing jointly, Are they considered married? {Even though, They were never ''Legally'' married.}
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Legally married
In Texas you can be 'informally' married, which is also called 'common-law'. This is the statute:
� 2.401. PROOF OF INFORMAL MARRIAGE. (a) In a judicial,
administrative, or other proceeding, the marriage of a man and
woman may be proved by evidence that:
(1) a declaration of their marriage has been signed as
provided by this subchapter; or
(2) the man and woman agreed to be married and after
the agreement they lived together in this state as husband and wife
and there represented to others that they were married.
(b) If a proceeding in which a marriage is to be proved as
provided by Subsection (a)(2) is not commenced before the second
anniversary of the date on which the parties separated and ceased
living together, it is rebuttably presumed that the parties did not
enter into an agreement to be married.
(c) A person under 18 years of age may not:
(1) be a party to an informal marriage; or
(2) execute a declaration of informal marriage under
Section 2.402.
(d) A person may not be a party to an informal marriage or
execute a declaration of an informal marriage if the person is
presently married to a person who is not the other party to the
informal marriage or declaration of an informal marriage, as
applicable.
Depending upon your circumstances, you may be married. On the other hand, you may need to file an amended tax return.