For those of you living in states that recognize coommonlaw marriage...

[opaloctober]

Has anyone ever held a common law wedding? While my fiance and I have been common law married about 3 years now, it's not quite the right time to have a legal wedding, due to the fact that we're moving back to my hometown to finish our degrees, and will be living in separate places (due to the fact that my mom and grandparents can barely stand him

Comments

[dancing_minerva]

Where I am, "common law" is different from a "civil marriage". Common law status can be gained without any type of ceremony, just proof that you are in a relationship and living together for a certain length of time. A civil ceremony marriage can be performed by a Justice of the Peace (an approved government agent) which is secular/non-religious in nature.

I'm in Alberta, Canada. I know that in Canada, this is dictated by a provincial law, but I don't know how it works in the US. I imagine you could look it up on your state government policy website.

[dancing_minerva]

Also, I forgot to mention that in my province, couples with common law partnership status have the same legal rights as marriages, including what happens when you 'divorce'.