Common Law marriage is the secondary type of marriage that is available to residence of the USA who qualifies. A common law marriage means that you have been leaving with your significant other for 6months or more but do not have a marriage license or certificate. Once you reach this stage of your relationship you are legally considered to be married by the eyes of the law.
Common law marriages are slowly being phased out and today only three-quarters of the USA states recognize this form of relationship. The states that do recognize common law couples have a great deal of restrictions. You must see yourself as husband and wife and act accordingly, you must have the capacity to get married and you must live together and clearly represent yourselves as husband and wife to others. Living together is no longer enough to be considered a common law couple.
If you do qualify as a common law couple you have the same rights and duties as a couple who has a marriage license and was officially married. Of course there are many things to think about when you are a common law couple. For instance, if you are recognized as common law in one state and then move to another state that does not recognize common law couples, is your marriage still valid or it is erased? This conflict of law is something that needs to be considered for couples in this circumstance before they decide to move if they are concerned about their marriage and their rights.
As the years pass, common law marriages are not as prominent as they used to be but there are still many couples out there who are struggling with the laws of different states to recognize their relationship as a marriage. When looking at the laws and how they have changed over the years it would not be hard to assume that one day common law marriages will no longer exist.