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The Palmer Law Firm
Texas Marriage
Goin to the Chapel, eh? Well hold on there partner. You 've got some hurtles to go
through first.
First, you must obtain a marriage licence from a county clerk in Texas. However, you
are under no obligation to obtain that license from a county where either party lives.
You also don't have to have the wedding where the license was obtained. (2.004).
You do, however, have to be old enough to get married. Eighteen is the age when you
can do this without anyone's permission. You can get married as young as fourteen (God
forbid anyone giving you that permission). A youngster can get married if they provide
within 30 days of an application for marriage a written sworn consent form from either
their legal guardian or parent. The youngster can also petition the court- apparently
even when the legal guardian or parent refuses to give permission. (2.009(a)(4)(C).
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE
Texas is one of the dwindling number of states that continue to recognize the informal or
"common law" marriage. Basically it works this way: if you act like you are married, the
state could consider you married even if you never got a license to marry or had a
marriage ceremony.
The issue of common law marriage usually comes up when the practitioner is faced with
a petition for divorce and there are property issues to be decided.
In those cases where one side is trying to assert a community property interest in a
putative "martial estate", the first issue you must deal with is: "was there a marriage?"
Under TFC 2.401(a)(1), you can have a court declare that a marriage exists if you have a
written declaration of marriage. I can't imagine a real life scenario where this would
happen, but if you can think of one, then I'd love to hear about it. I mean, afterall,
wouldn't you just get a marriage liscense?
The much more "common way" for a "common law" marriage is covered under TFC
2.401(a)(2). In it the following elements must be met for an informal marriage to exist:
The parties agreed to be married;
they lived together as husband and wife;
they represented to others that they were married.
Remember that once established, the "common law" marriage is just a binding and valid
as the formal, ceremonial kind.
Goin to the Chapel, eh? Well hold on there partner. You 've got some hurtles to go
through first.
First, you must obtain a marriage licence from a county clerk in Texas. However, you
are under no obligation to obtain that license from a county where either party lives.
You also don't have to have the wedding where the license was obtained. (2.004).
You do, however, have to be old enough to get married. Eighteen is the age when you
can do this without anyone's permission. You can get married as young as fourteen (God
forbid anyone giving you that permission). A youngster can get married if they provide
within 30 days of an application for marriage a written sworn consent form from either
their legal guardian or parent. The youngster can also petition the court- apparently
even when the legal guardian or parent refuses to give permission. (2.009(a)(4)(C).
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE
Texas is one of the dwindling number of states that continue to recognize the informal or
"common law" marriage. Basically it works this way: if you act like you are married, the
state could consider you married even if you never got a license to marry or had a
marriage ceremony.
The issue of common law marriage usually comes up when the practitioner is faced with
a petition for divorce and there are property issues to be decided.
In those cases where one side is trying to assert a community property interest in a
putative "martial estate", the first issue you must deal with is: "was there a marriage?"
Under TFC 2.401(a)(1), you can have a court declare that a marriage exists if you have a
written declaration of marriage. I can't imagine a real life scenario where this would
happen, but if you can think of one, then I'd love to hear about it. I mean, afterall,
wouldn't you just get a marriage liscense?
The much more "common way" for a "common law" marriage is covered under TFC
2.401(a)(2). In it the following elements must be met for an informal marriage to exist:
The parties agreed to be married;
they lived together as husband and wife;
they represented to others that they were married.
Remember that once established, the "common law" marriage is just a binding and valid
as the formal, ceremonial kind.
SM