common law marriage requirements in state of Ga

[sizetoker1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia
IS FILING JOINT INCOME TAX RETURN A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT?
Other requirements are met before January 1997.

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia
IS FILING JOINT INCOME TAX RETURN A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT?
Other requirements are met before January 1997.

According to Black's Law dictionary, there is no specific requirement on tax returns, although it states that the parties must live together as man and wife and take advantage of the rights of such. Filing a joint tax return is so important that it seems to me that it would open the issue to challenge if either party wanted to do so. The other party would be forced to produce sufficient evidence to overcome the lack of a joint return - which would not be an easy thing to do.

A Georgia Divorce site specifically lists joint tax returns as one form of evidence that they were living together as man and wife:
Common Law Marriage in Georgia

Overall, it's not 100% clear, but without joint tax returns, you would need pretty strong evidence that you were living together as man and wife. Simply "we intended to spend the rest of our lives together, raised children together, etc., etc., etc." would not be enough. Do you have specific documentation that the couple were living as man and wife?

 

[thedoctorisin]

You could also file as "married filing separate" if you don't want to file jointly.

 

[mistoffolees]

You could also file as "married filing separate" if you don't want to file jointly.

That is correct. The key is filing as married - whether joint or separate.

However, I believe Ldij pointe out in another thread that you need a spouse's signature to file as married - separate, anyway. If one partner is trying to avoid common law marriage by not going along, it won't work.

 

[LdiJ]

That is correct. The key is filing as married - whether joint or separate.

However, I believe Ldij pointe out in another thread that you need a spouse's signature to file as married - separate, anyway. If one partner is trying to avoid common law marriage by not going along, it won't work.

No, you don't need a spouse's signature, but you must identify the spouse by name and social security number. Which means you either have to have access to the SSN, or cooperation from the spouse.

I had to jury rig a return for a husband who needed to file married filing separately because his wife flat out refused to give him her SSN. (because she herself had filed a fraudulent return claiming head of household and taking EIC for her separate children)

I filed him as single but followed all the rules etc for married filing separately so he paid the correct tax, and included a disclosure explaining why.