toby_17 said:
How long do you have to be living with someone before you are legally considered married, in Texas. You probably have to be 18(I'm only 17), but I'd like to know. I recently moved in with an 18 yr old and was wondering because of that.
There is no statutory 'timeframe' needed to create an 'informal marriage' (that is the proper term in Texas).
The requirements for a Texas 'informal marriage' are:
- that the parties agreed to be married
- that they lived together in Texas as husband and wife, and
- that they have publicly represented themselves as married.
All three of these requisites must exist at the same time. In addition, the common law marriage without formality statute precludes proof of the existence of an informal marriage if the acts occurred in a state other than Texas.
However, you would not qualify for an informal marriage as state law requires anyone between 14 and 17 years old to have written parental consent on an official form in the presence of the county clerk or to have received an order from the Texas district court authorizing your marriage.
