Common Law Marriage Colorado Law: Fill & Download for Free

If you are in the US and if you are in one of the few common law states and fulfill their requirements for common law marriage you can make your own contract saying you are married. Though if you want a real marriage certificate, you will still need to get married, as far as I know.The MythThere is a common misperception that if you live together for a certain length of time (seven years is what many people believe), you are common-law married. This is not true anywhere in the United States.States That Recognize Common Law MarriageOnly a few states recognize common law marriages, and each has specific stipulations as to what relationships are included:AlabamaColoradoDistrict of ColumbiaGeorgia (if created before 1/1/97)Idaho (if created before 1/1/96)IowaKansasMontanaNew Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only)Ohio (if created before 10/10/91)Oklahoma (possibly only if created before 11/1/98. Oklahoma’s laws and court decisions may be in conflict about whether common law marriages formed in that state after 11/1/98 will be recognized.)Pennsylvania (if created before 1/1/05)Rhode IslandSouth CarolinaTexasUtahIf you live in a State that Does Recognize Common Law MarriageIf you live in one of the above states and you “hold yourself out to be married” (by telling the community you are married, calling each other husband and wife, using the same last name, filing joint income tax returns, etc.), you can have a common law marriage (for more information on the specific requirements of each state, see Legal Information and Resources by State). Common law marriage makes you a legally married couple in every way, even though you never obtained a marriage license. If you choose to end your relationship, you must get a divorce, even though you never had a wedding. Legally, common law married couples must play by all the same rules as “regular” married couples. If you live in one of the common law states and don’t want your relationship to become a common law marriage, you must be clear that it is your intention not to marry. The attorneys who wrote Living Together (additional information below) recommend an agreement in writing that both partners sign and date: “Jane Smith and John Doe agree as follows: That they’ve been and plan to continue living together as two free, independent beings and that neither has ever intended to enter into any form of marriage, common law or otherwise.”If You Live in a State that Does Not Recognize Common Law MarriageThere is no way to form a common law marriage, no matter how long you live with your partner. There is one catch: if you spend time in a state that does recognize common law marriage, “hold yourself out as married,” and then return or move to a state that doesn’t recognize it, you are still married (since states all recognize marriages that occurred in other states). However, this is murky legal territory and we don’t recommend experimenting with it!Unmarried Equality is not responsible for omissions or inaccuracies in the above information.Much of the information on this fact sheet comes from an excellent do-it-yourself legal guide called Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples, by attorneys Toni Ihara, Ralph Warner, and Frederick Hertz (2008).Common Law Marriage Fact Sheet

“How long do you have to live together to be considered a common-law marriage?”Your Quora bio indicates that you live in the US, but you don’t say what state you currently live in. I see you mention having lived in Illinois. As long as you remain in Illinois, you can cohabit forever without ever entering into a common-law marriage. Illinois, like most US states, does not recognize common-law marriage.The 8–10 jurisdictions where you can currently enter into a common-law marriage are: Colorado; DC; Iowa; Kansas; Montana; Oklahoma (maybe); Rhode Island; South Carolina; Texas; and Utah (maybe). The law is somewhat uncertain in Oklahoma and Utah.New Hampshire recognizes common-law marriage for probate purposes only. A common-law spouse can inherit from their deceased partner as an heir, but state law does not give people any legal rights vis-à-vis their living partners.Somewhat surprisingly, the only U.S. state that sets a specific minimum amount of time a couple has to live together in order to establish a common-law marriage is New Hampshire — the state where a common-law marriage cannot be established while both partners are living. In New Hampshire, you have to live together for at least 3 years before you can inherit as a spouse.The other ten jurisdictions require the parties to cohabit and to hold themselves out as being husband and wife, but there is no minimum amount of time the couple has to live together. Technically, you can establish a common-law marriage in as little as a day, as long as you satisfy the other statutory requirements.

Common law marriages cannot be contracted into, or created, in California. In the United States, only the District of Columbia and nine states—namely, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah—allow the creation of common law marriages. California does not recognize alleged common law marriages originating in California, but it does recognize common law marriages lawfully created in any of the foregoing jurisdictions.