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This could happen during a breakup — if one person denies being in a common-law marriage — or during the handling of estates, if one person has died and the other person is trying to prove a common-law marriage in order to claim the other’s assets.A 1987 case that set the standard for determining whether a couple is in a common-law marriage says courts should consider several factors, like whether the couple owned property together, shared bank accounts or filed joint tax returns, if the woman took the man’s last name, whether the couple has children with the man’s last name and whether the couple lived openly as married and presented themselves as married in their communities.Some of those factors — like the requirement that couples lived openly as married — do not easily translate to same-sex relationships and should be adjusted to better reflect the realities of such relationships, Gibson said.“We’d like to see the court refine that language to account for the reality that same-sex couples, both historically and presently, often couldn’t be completely open in their relationships because of the danger, discrimination and potential employment ramifications of being open about the relationship,” he said.But Stephen Plog, attorney for one of the women in the case, argued that the state Supreme Court should not change the 1987 standard because it can be applied to same-sex couples without any adjustments.“The danger is that same-sex partners who never intended to be married could be boxed in to being ‘married’ if you change (the standard) or adapt it for same-sex couples,” he said.His client denies that she was ever in a common-law marriage and maintains she simply had a long-term, romantic relationship with her partner — a position that two lower courts agreed with, finding there was no marriage.Ann Gushurst, attorney for that partner who is appealing the previous findings, said the couple was in fact married and the court’s standards for establishing common-law marriages are often wrongly applied to same-sex couples.“In the case of same-sex marriages, trial courts have jumped through hoops to not find marriages when they absolutely would have for straight couples,” she said.Gibson said the organizations he represents don’t want to set up two separate tests for same-sex and straight couples, but rather ensure that the one test that does exist is fair to both types of couples and that judges have clear guidance from the state Supreme Court on how to apply the law.“So it’s no easier and no harder for a different-sex couple to show a common-law marriage than it is for a same-sex couple,” he said.
Cohabitation alone may not be enough to establish common law marriage should one partner deny his or her intention of being married. A common law marriage cannot be terminated except by court dissolution (divorce) or death.
Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Colorado Supreme Court to consider how same-sex… Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Common-law marriage can still be contracted in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and the District of Columbia. For more information on common law marriage or to get a sample Affidavit of Common Law Marriage, see the State of Colorado website concerning marriage law.
Denver Post review finds ranks of Colorado judges, prosecutors overwhelmingly white Post Premium: Our top stories for Aug. 3-9, 2020 GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. A common law marriage in Colorado is valid for all purposes, the same as a ceremonial marriage.
A common law marriage in the state of Colorado can be defined as a marriage so long as the man and the woman are over the age of eighteen and agree to maintain a marital status. You must fill out and submit the required divorce paperwork and wait for a final judgment.