Am I common law married?
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Am I common law married?
I have been living with a man, we consider ourselves married. He recently passed
away and I’m watching people treat me like I have no ground as his common law
wife because I’m still legally married to someone else and have been since 2005.
He is astranged and I have been separated from him since 2007.
Asked on August 5, 2019 under Family Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
If you were still legally married to someone else, then even if you and he were estranged, you are not common law married to the gentleman who recently passed away. No U.S. states allow someone to be married to two (or more) people simultaneously; if you are married to person A, then you cannot marry person B, whether in the traditional way or with a common law marriage, and any claimed marriage will be void. You were therefore not married to the second gentleman, because you were still legally married to the first at the time.
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