Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: putative marriage application

I believe your question deals with a "Marriage Without Formalities" usually known as "common-law marriage"

There are three requirements, all of which must be met:

1. cohabitation, in this state - I think you have that one.

2. "holding out' to others that the parties are married - your statement says that - you will have to have evidence to present.

3. an agreement to be married - this test is a problem for you, because you stated you "planned to get married" that is not evidence that you both agreed to be married on a certain day in the past, in fact it appears to be evidence that you did agree to be married - but in the future.

These common-law marriages are very fact intensive. In order to have your case properly looked at, you need to contact an attorney in your area that practices mainly in family law, and that hopefully knows your local court system and how these cases are viewed.

Thank you for your inquiry.