common law question

[tincup]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? kansas
My girlfriend and I have lived together in Kansas since 2005 and now we are breaking up.
She claims that we need to get a divorce because we are common law. She does not have the same last name as me and we have nevered filed a joint income tax return. The only legal forms she is on listing her as my wife are my health insurance and car insurance. I also have her listed as my beneficiarie on my life insurance and retirement plan. We have introduced ourselves as husband and wife in public. Do we need to get a divorce?

 

[TheGeekess]

"Common Law Marriages
A common law marriage is a marriage by agreement of the two persons without any formal ceremony or license. A common law marriage will be recognized in Kansas if the couple considers themselves to be married and publicly holds themselves out to be married and if they are legally eligible to marry. No minimum period of cohabitation is required.

Common Law marriages are subject to the same legal obligations and privileges that apply to marriages with licenses. Once a common law marriage is established, the couple must get a court ordered divorce to terminate the marriage. "
Kansas Bar Association - Topeka, KS

Sounds like you need a divorce lawyer.

 

[tincup]

Thanks for the advice. I understand that Kansas is a "no fault" state. Can we do a dissolution of marriage and can we do it thru a online service such as legalzoom.com?

 

[TheGeekess]

All they do is provide the paperwork, if I'm remembering correctly from the radio ads. You could do a google search and see what grounds for divorce in Kansas are.

From the link I posted above:
"Divorce

Divorce is a legal termination of a marriage. To get a divorce in Kansas, the petitioner must be a Kansas resident for 60 days. There are several grounds for granting a divorce: incompatibility (no-fault); failure to perform a material martial duty; and mental illness (where spouse has been confined to a mental institution for two years or the court has found the spouse mentally ill or mentally incapacitated). Suits must be filed in the district court in which either spouse lives at the time of filing or where the spouse being filed against can be served. "
Kansas Bar Association - Topeka, KS