Az Commen law marrige

i live in arizona with my boyfriend of 11 years. does arizona have commen law marrige?

mebreeden said:

i live in arizona with my boyfriend of 11 years. does arizona have commen law marrige?

Click to expand...

My response:

Simple answer. No, it doesn't.

You get to leave with the clothes on your back.

IAAL

what do you mean i get to leave with the clothes on my back? we have 3 children and i don't plan on leaving. we want to get married yet friends ask why if we are already married by "commen law".

mebreeden said:

what do you mean i get to leave with the clothes on my back? we have 3 children and i don't plan on leaving. we want to get married yet friends ask why if we are already married by "commen law".

Click to expand...

My response:

First, it's spelled "COMMON", as in "Common Law".

Normally, when people write to these boards, they are usually on their way OUT of a relationship. Since you were asking about Common Law marriages in Arizona; i.e., you are not married, and your original post was very non-specific, I presumed you were ready to LEAVE your relationship. If you were leaving the relationship, and you aren't married, then a person in such a non-married relationship gets to leave with only the clothes on their back.

However, Arizona, like all the NON-Common Law States, do "recognize" Common Law marriages if you were Common Law married in another State, and then moved to Arizona. But, in Arizona, like all the other States that DO NOT have Common Law marriage, you cannot obtain Common Law marriage status no matter how long you've lived together. You can only be Common Law married in Arizona IF you've moved to Arizona from a State where Common Law marriages are legal, and only if you've satisfied the Common Laws of that Common Law State.

So, were you already Common Law married in another State before you moved to Arizona ? If so, what is the name of that other State ?

If your answer to the above question is "NO", then even though you have 3 children, you cannot obtain Common Law marriage status in Arizona. You need to get married the old fashioned way, and pursuant to the laws of the State of Arizona, which includes obtaining a marriage license, and being married by someone who has authority to perform marriages.

Sorry about the misunderstanding, and good luck to you.

IAAL