Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: marriage

As you know by now there is no common law marriage in Virginia. Eight states have it and they are mostly out west. If you have lived together for 8 years in a common law marriage state then you are considered married and that is recognized by every state. Virginia is not a common law state. The only way to be married in Virginia is to get married or be common law married from another state. Unmarried people cannot file taxes together but may carry insurance on each other.

Good luck

Re: marriage

No matter how long you live together, you will not be considered man and wife in Virginia. There is no "common law" marriage here. So no tax or insurance advantages.

If a couple has a recognized common law marriage in another state, Virginia may recognize it, but it's going to be difficult.

If you want to be married in Virginia, you have to get a license and go through a ceremony.

Hope this helps.

Re: marriage

The Commonwealth of Virginia does not recognize common law marriages no matter how long the man and woman may have perdured in their particular relationship.

Arlington County at one time was attempting to confer some local legal recognition on such relationships by way of something called domestic partnerships which were given some tax breaks from the county, I believe, or allowed the

homosexual or straight employee of the county to add his or her significant other to the county's medical insurance plan.

Whether these local entitlements still survive, I have no idea. I seem to remember something about State Attorney General Kilgore issuing an opinion which suggested such local entitlements were contrary to the local taxing authority/power allocated to local jurisdictions under state law. Kilgore may have in taken the matter to the appellate courts and received a decision supporting his position. If so, then

so-called "progressive" jurisdictions such as Arlington are obviously no longer able to give the kinds of aforementioned special benefits to

merely co-habiting couples.