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Common Law Marriages
Common law marriages can have a bearing on student aid eligibility,
since a married student is automatically independent.
The requirements for a common law marriage are as follows:
The key requirement is cohabitation while holding themselves out as
being married. Mere cohabitation without holding themselves out as a
married couple does not constitute marriage.
Common law marriage is recognized only in the following states:
Note that since common law marriage is a state phenomenon, you need to
check the laws in the relevant state. There are subtle differences
among the states. For example, in some states there is a form you can
file to declare an informal marriage.
On September 17, 2003, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled
that it would no longer recognize common-law marriages in
Pennsylvania in PNC Bank Corp. v. Workers Comp. Bd. (Stamos)
(860 CD 2002). It is unclear, however, whether this decision is
binding for federal student aid purposes, because it is not
necessarily consistent with State law as interpreted by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court. If this decision is upheld on appeal,
it does not affect any unions prior to September 17, 2003.
Note that if a couple were living together in a common law marriage,
and then moved to a state that doesn't recognize common law marriages,
they are still considered married. This is because of the "Full Faith
and Credit" clause of the US Constitution (Section 1 of Article IV).
A vacation in a common law state does not normally result in a common
law marriage if the couple resides in a state that does not recognize
common law marriages.
If the financial aid administrator has any questions as to whether the
couple is married, he or she can create a "Documentation of Common Law
Marriage Form" that the couple would complete asserting that as of a
particular date they agreed to be married, have lived in one of the
states listed above as husband and wife after that date, and have
represented to others that they are married. The form must be signed
by both husband and wife in the presence of a notary and must be
notarized. If they complete the form, that's sufficient documentation,
since the form itself satisfies the requirements for a common law
marriage. Several states already have such a form; in Texas it is
called the Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage form.
The following table summarizes the requirements for a common law
marriage in each state.
See also the discussion of common law marriage on the
National Conference of State Legislatures
web site
and on the Wikipedia web site.
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