I get the impression you may not live in the US, but if you do, here is the current law structure for common law marriages. If you are not in the US then you need to check with your local area. Assumption that you are common law married is a bad idea not just Biblically. If you are not legally common law married, yet are presenting yourself as such for any benefits then it could be considered fraud.
If you are legally common law married in one state, then you are married in all states as they all recognize legal marriages between one man and one woman.
See if your situation/state fits this criteria:
Common Law Marriage (a little bit more detailed information on this page--I cut and pasted the vital data only)
Common-Law Marriage
To be defined as a common-law marriage within the states that allow it, the two people must: agree that they are married, live together, and present themselves as husband and wife. Common-law marriage is generally a non-ceremonial relationship that requires "a positive mutual agreement, permanent and exclusive of all others, to enter into a marriage relationship, cohabitation sufficient to warrant a fulfillment of necessary relationship of man and wife, and an assumption of marital duties and obligations." Black's Law Dictionary 277 (6th ed. 1990).
Before modern domestic relations statutes, couples became married by a variety of means that developed from custom. These became the elements of a "common-law marriage," or a marriage that arose through the couple's conduct, instead of through a ceremony. In many ways, the theory of common-law marriage is one of estoppel - meaning that couples who have told the world they are married should not be allowed to claim they aren't when in a dispute between themselves.
Currently, only nine states (Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma and Texas) and the District of Columbia recognize common-law marriages. In addition, five states have "grandfathered" common-law marriage (Georgia, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania) allowing those established before a certain date to be recognized. New Hampshire recognizes common-law marriage for purposes of probate only, and Utah recognizes common-law marriages only if they have been validated by a court or administrative order.
- Alabama
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Iowa (Iowa Code Ann. §. 595.11)
- Kansas
- Montana (Mont. Code Ann. § 26-1-602, 40-1-403)
- New Hampshire
- Ohio
- Oklahoma (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 43, § 1)
- Pennsylvania (23 Penn. Cons. Stat. § 1103)
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Texas (Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 2.401)
- Utah (Utah Code Ann.§ 30-1-4.5)
Georgia: Only for common-law marriages formed before January 1, 1997 (1996 Georgia Act 1021).
Idaho: Only for common-law marriages formed before January 1, 1996 (Idaho Code § 32-201).
Kansas: law prohibits recognition of common law marriage if either party is under 18 years of age. (2002 Kan. Sess. Laws, SB 486, §23-101).
New Hampshire: Common law marriages effective only at death. (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann § 457:39).
Ohio: Only for common-law marriages formed before October 10, 1991 (Lyons v. Lyons 621 N.E. 2d 718 (Ohio App. 1993)).
Oklahoma: Only for common-law marriage formed before November 1, 1998. (1998 Okla. SB 1076).
Pennsylvania: law was amended to read "No common-law marriage contracted after January 1, 2005 shall be valid." (Pennsylvania Statues, Section 1103)
Texas: calls it an "informal marriage," rather than a common-law marriage. Under § 2.401 of the Texas Family Code, an informal marriage can be established either by declaration (registering at the county courthouse without having a ceremony), or by meeting a three-prong test showing evidence of (1) an agreement to be married; (2) cohabitation in Texas; and (3) representation to others that the parties are married. A 1995 update adds an evidentiary presumption that there was no marriage if no suit for proof of marriage is filed within two years of the date the parties separated and ceased living together.
Utah: Administrative order establishes that it arises out of a contract between two consenting parties who: (a) are capable of giving consent; (b) are legally capable of entering a solemnized marriage; (c) have cohabited; (d) mutually assume marital rights, duties, and obligations; and (e) who hold themselves out as and have acquired a uniform and general reputation as husband and wife. The determination or establishment of such a marriage must occur during the relationship or within one year following the termination of that relationship.
