Rhode Island Common Law Marriage
Posted by Molly
Many states used to recognize what is called a “common law” marriage, but it is becoming less popular now. Common law is the term for two people who act as if they are married, and their community believes they are married, but they have never been in a formal ceremony to do so. The states that recognize this consider it binding. Rhode Island does allow for common law marriage. It is one of only ten states in the United States that still allow for common law.
Today I’d like to talk a little bit about the rules that determine whether people are in a common law marriage. There is a big misconception among most people that you are common law married if you have lived together for a certain length of time, usually 6 or 7 years. The fact is that how long you have lived together has nothing to do with it. Instead, there are certain criteria that are used to determine the status of your relationship.
Rhode Island law states that if you want to establish a common law marriage, you and your partner must seriously intend to enter into a husband/wife relationship. It also states that your conduct must be such that your community believes that you are married. So it’s more about how you live and act than any length of time.
Sometimes people live together without benefit of marriage, and then one partner dies and the other one finds out that they are not eligible to receive social security benefits, pension, or other financial benefits that would have been available to a spouse in a ceremonial marriage. That’s why it is so important to have a validated common law marriage. Rhode Island’s rules are simple and fairly straightforward; it should be simple enough to establish this marriage in Rhode Island.
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