Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Utah

My ex-boyfriend/roommate who was evicted in May has placed a notice of interest on my house using marriage by common law. He has no legal ties to the house. He did make improvement on the house. We were together for 2yrs. and 10mo. We had separate bedrooms, bank accounts, filed separate income tax. The only thing we shared was the house payment, city bill, light, gas, and he bought me a phone for my birthday and he added me to his plan. We split the phone bill. I hope this is free because I have no money to pay for advice


Asked on 8/28/14, 7:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Randy Lish Randy M. Lish, Attorney at Law

A common-law marriage is not recognized in Utah unless you did things that would make other people believe you were married, i.e., signing documents under the same last name. If everyone knew that you were just living together, there was no common-law marriage, and the lien is fraudulent. The fact that you kept your finances separate including tax returns, is a strong indicator that neither of you considered yourselves to be married. What he has done is a thrid-degree felony. Talk to the county attorney of the county where the property is located, and see if he is willing to file criminal charges. If not, you will need to hire an attorney and pursue the matter civilly. The action would be one for defamation of title.

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Answered on 8/28/14, 7:39 am


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