Texas Common Law Marriages

[debbie12202]

What is the name of your state? Texas

My fiance and I were planning to marry in August. A month ago he moved in with me. I've since learned that he suffers from bipolar disorder and he has disappeared in a manic episode and has been missing for over a week. The law enforcement officers are telling me that we are married by common law because we were cohabitating under the same roof. They are telling me that because they consider me to be common law that all of my property - i.e vehicle, home, etc. now is joint property. Thus, since they view my property as joint, they can do nothing about my missing paid off van. Now besides being concerned about my missing fiance and his mental state, I am now concerned about these other issues as well.


We never presented ourselves as man and wife. We planned to marry in a civil ceremony in August. My understanding prior was that there is a minimum time period in which couples had to cohabitate and they had to present themselves as man and wife. Also my understanding prior was that any property that a person brought to a marriage in Texas was still that person's property if they left the marriage.

What are the laws regarding common law marriage in Texas? What are the laws about joint property? Specifically, if I have been paying on my mortgage for 12 + years, is what the Sherriff's Department telling me true that because my fiance lived with me for 1 month that my home and my van are now joint property? The Sherriff's Department is also telling me that I need to go to the judge and prove that my home is mine and file an eviction notice in order to protect my property from my fiance's irresponsible financial behavior through a joint chekcing account opened in anticipation of our marriage. Is this true?

I contacted an attorney regarding these questions and I was only told that a judge would have to make a decision.

Thank you for any information you can provide.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Texas

My fiance and I were planning to marry in August. A month ago he moved in with me. I've since learned that he suffers from bipolar disorder and he has disappeared in a manic episode and has been missing for over a week. The law enforcement officers are telling me that we are married by common law because we were cohabitating under the same roof. They are telling me that because they consider me to be common law that all of my property - i.e vehicle, home, etc. now is joint property. Thus, since they view my property as joint, they can do nothing about my missing paid off van. Now besides being concerned about my missing fiance and his mental state, I am now concerned about these other issues as well.


We never presented ourselves as man and wife. We planned to marry in a civil ceremony in August. My understanding prior was that there is a minimum time period in which couples had to cohabitate and they had to present themselves as man and wife. Also my understanding prior was that any property that a person brought to a marriage in Texas was still that person's property if they left the marriage.

What are the laws regarding common law marriage in Texas? What are the laws about joint property? Specifically, if I have been paying on my mortgage for 12 + years, is what the Sherriff's Department telling me true that because my fiance lived with me for 1 month that my home and my van are now joint property? The Sherriff's Department is also telling me that I need to go to the judge and prove that my home is mine and file an eviction notice in order to protect my property from my fiance's irresponsible financial behavior through a joint chekcing account opened in anticipation of our marriage. Is this true?

I contacted an attorney regarding these questions and I was only told that a judge would have to make a decision.

Thank you for any information you can provide.

It is completely untrue that living together for one month constitutes a common law marriage in Texas....in fact, if I remember correctly a common law marriage requires filing paperwork of some sort in TX....to register the common law marriage. (however I could be wrong)

I would get on the horn to someone of higher rank in the police department.

 

[ceara19]

It is completely untrue that living together for one month constitutes a common law marriage in Texas....in fact, if I remember correctly a common law marriage requires filing paperwork of some sort in TX....to register the common law marriage. (however I could be wrong)

I would get on the horn to someone of higher rank in the police department.

Registering an "Informal Marriage" is an option, but not a requirement in Texas. Nothing the OP has stated indicates that the relationship would be considered a valid "Informal Marriage" in Texas, but here is the exact law.

SUBCHAPTER E. MARRIAGE WITHOUT FORMALITIES



§ 2.401. PROOF OF INFORMAL MARRIAGE. (a) In a judicial,
administrative, or other proceeding, the marriage of a man and
woman may be proved by evidence that:
(1) a declaration of their marriage has been signed as
provided by this subchapter; or
(2) the man and woman agreed to be married and after
the agreement they lived together in this state as husband and wife
and there represented to others that they were married.
(b) If a proceeding in which a marriage is to be proved as
provided by Subsection (a)(2) is not commenced before the second
anniversary of the date on which the parties separated and ceased
living together, it is rebuttably presumed that the parties did not
enter into an agreement to be married.
(c) A person under 18 years of age may not:
(1) be a party to an informal marriage; or
(2) execute a declaration of informal marriage under
Section 2.402.
(d) A person may not be a party to an informal marriage or
execute a declaration of an informal marriage if the person is
presently married to a person who is not the other party to the
informal marriage or declaration of an informal marriage, as
applicable.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1362, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1997; Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 268, § 4.12, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


§ 2.402. DECLARATION AND REGISTRATION OF INFORMAL
MARRIAGE. (a) A declaration of informal marriage must be signed on
a form prescribed by the bureau of vital statistics and provided by
the county clerk. Each party to the declaration shall provide the
information required in the form.
(b) The declaration form must contain:
(1) a heading entitled "Declaration and Registration
of Informal Marriage, ___________ County, Texas";
(2) spaces for each party's full name, including the
woman's maiden surname, address, date of birth, place of birth,
including city, county, and state, and social security number, if
any;
(3) a space for indicating the type of document
tendered by each party as proof of age and identity;
(4) printed boxes for each party to check "true" or
"false" in response to the following statement: "The other party is
not related to me as:
(A) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or
adoption;
(B) a brother or sister, of the whole or half
blood or by adoption;
(C) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or
half blood or by adoption;
(D) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of
the whole or half blood or by adoption;
(E) a current or former stepchild or stepparent;
or
(F) a son or daughter of a parent's brother or
sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption.";
(5) a printed declaration and oath reading: "I
SOLEMNLY SWEAR (OR AFFIRM) THAT WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, ARE MARRIED TO
EACH OTHER BY VIRTUE OF THE FOLLOWING FACTS: ON OR ABOUT (DATE) WE
AGREED TO BE MARRIED, AND AFTER THAT DATE WE LIVED TOGETHER AS
HUSBAND AND WIFE AND IN THIS STATE WE REPRESENTED TO OTHERS THAT WE
WERE MARRIED. SINCE THE DATE OF MARRIAGE TO THE OTHER PARTY I HAVE
NOT BEEN MARRIED TO ANY OTHER PERSON. THIS DECLARATION IS TRUE AND
THE INFORMATION IN IT WHICH I HAVE GIVEN IS CORRECT.";
(6) spaces immediately below the printed declaration
and oath for the parties' signatures; and
(7) a certificate of the county clerk that the parties
made the declaration and oath and the place and date it was made.
(c) Repealed by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1362, § 4, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1362, § 4, eff. Sept. 1,
1997; Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 268, § 4.13, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


§ 2.403. PROOF OF IDENTITY AND AGE; OFFENSE. (a) The
county clerk shall require proof of the identity and age of each
party to the declaration of informal marriage to be established by a
certified copy of the party's birth certificate or by some
certificate, license, or document issued by this state or another
state, the United States, or a foreign government.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
provides false, fraudulent, or otherwise inaccurate proof of the
person's identity or age under this section. An offense under this
subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
Amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 268, § 4.14, eff. Sept. 1,
2005.


§ 2.404. RECORDING OF DECLARATION OF INFORMAL
MARRIAGE. (a) The county clerk shall:
(1) determine that all necessary information is
recorded on the declaration of informal marriage form and that all
necessary documents are submitted to the clerk;
(2) administer the oath to each party to the
declaration;
(3) have each party sign the declaration in the clerk's
presence; and
(4) execute the clerk's certificate to the
declaration.
(b) The county clerk may not certify or record the
declaration if:
(1) either party fails to supply any information or
provide any document required by this subchapter;
(2) either party is under 18 years of age; or
(3) either party checks "false" in response to the
statement of relationship to the other party.
(c) On execution of the declaration, the county clerk shall
record the declaration and all documents submitted with the
declaration or note a summary of them on the declaration form,
deliver the original of the declaration to the parties, and send a
copy to the bureau of vital statistics.
(d) A declaration recorded as provided in this section is
prima facie evidence of the marriage of the parties.
(e) At the time the parties sign the declaration, the clerk
shall distribute to each party printed materials about acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV). The clerk shall note on the declaration that the
distribution was made. The materials shall be prepared and
provided to the clerk by the Texas Department of Health and shall be
designed to inform the parties about:
(1) the incidence and mode of transmission of AIDS and
HIV;
(2) the local availability of medical procedures,
including voluntary testing, designed to show or help show whether
a person has AIDS or HIV infection, antibodies to HIV, or infection
with any other probable causative agent of AIDS; and
(3) available and appropriate counseling services
regarding AIDS and HIV infection.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1362, § 2, eff. Sept. 1,
1997.

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state? Texas

My fiance and I were planning to marry in August. A month ago he moved in with me. I've since learned that he suffers from bipolar disorder and he has disappeared in a manic episode and has been missing for over a week. The law enforcement officers are telling me that we are married by common law because we were cohabitating under the same roof. They are telling me that because they consider me to be common law that all of my property - i.e vehicle, home, etc. now is joint property. Thus, since they view my property as joint, they can do nothing about my missing paid off van. Now besides being concerned about my missing fiance and his mental state, I am now concerned about these other issues as well.


We never presented ourselves as man and wife. We planned to marry in a civil ceremony in August. My understanding prior was that there is a minimum time period in which couples had to cohabitate and they had to present themselves as man and wife. Also my understanding prior was that any property that a person brought to a marriage in Texas was still that person's property if they left the marriage.

What are the laws regarding common law marriage in Texas? What are the laws about joint property? Specifically, if I have been paying on my mortgage for 12 + years, is what the Sherriff's Department telling me true that because my fiance lived with me for 1 month that my home and my van are now joint property? The Sherriff's Department is also telling me that I need to go to the judge and prove that my home is mine and file an eviction notice in order to protect my property from my fiance's irresponsible financial behavior through a joint chekcing account opened in anticipation of our marriage. Is this true?

I contacted an attorney regarding these questions and I was only told that a judge would have to make a decision.

Thank you for any information you can provide.

The judge will have to make the decision. The Sheriff's Department is not judge and jury. HOWEVER, if he lived in your house and had access legally to your property it becomes a civil dispute. Your fiance is a tenant and is governed by landlord tenant laws. He had access to the van so if you have let him use it in the past or he is on the insurance for it, that does not constitute car theft. You played house and now have a legal mess that the courts have to unwind. You don't have an informal marriage or common law or anything of that nature but legally you are intertwined and need the courts to separate you.