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Common Law Relationships

Should two people living together in an intimate relationship be given the same rights as a married couple if they have been living together for a 'long' time? Consider the following:

1. What is considered a 'long' time?
2. If the couple separated should each have a claim on the other for support and/or property gained during the relationship?
3. Should a common law relationship be given a marriage certificate after so many years if they wanted it without a formal ceremony?

You may find these questions easy to answer, but in some countries the answers may surprise you.

Relationships Law Common

Two people should not be afforded the same rights as a married couple simply because they have been living together for a long time. This would mean that 2 good friends could be living together as room-mates and get the same privileges as a married couple.

Common Law Relationships History & Civil Business Politics

This is a more complex question than one would think.

First of all, we need to define rights - as far as I believe, all people have the same rights (life, liberty etc.) whether they are young or old, black or white, married or single. So please specify what you mean.

Secondly, what is "marriage"?

In the highest sense I believe it is a covenant made between God, man and woman by one authorised so to do. However, this has not been available to all (or many) and yet the Lord seems to recognise marriage which falls short of this.

Marriage, it might also be said, is no more a thing of the state than baptism. They are religious ceremonies, not political. So the fact that the state recognises a marriage is neither here nor there (a tyranny might never recognise your marriage but you're still married).

As far as I can see, and I may be wrong, lawful marriage (in a world where the highest sense may not be available to all) is when a man and a woman make some sort of pledge and this is *witnessed* and acknowledged by their society (no doubt through a ceremony). Ancient customs, which may have some merit to them, also suggest the marriage is not sealed or complete until a union of the flesh (which I believe was also witnessed or at least an evidence of the same produced).

Has that made the issue clearer?

Dubhdara

Relationships Law Common

I agree with Dubhdara. I have a very hard time with the whole idea of the state interfering in any way with marriage. Yes, this does allow abuses to occur, but the only reason this is even an issue is because there are so many legal concerns. Of course, these legal concerns include legitimacy of offspring, inheritance rights, insurance, child custody, etc.

"Common law" is probably the most common type of marriage that has been practiced throughout history. In the US, it has only been the last 130 or so years that there has been any legal stipulations about marriage. Before that, it was purely a matter of "common law" marriage, or religious ceremony.

This brings to mind the practice among slaves in the early 1800s to "jump the broom". This was a simple ceremony wherein the man and woman would jump over a broom, signifying that they were married. After the US Civil War, these marriages were still considered valid.

In fact, I am sure that there were many, many times before marriages were licensed, wherein a man and woman would move into a town, and just let everyone assume that they were married, and, by all legal, moral, and societal standards, they were, although there was never a ceremony.

Dubhdara was also correct (IMHO) that there are no "rights" associated with marriage, only legal accomodations. If there were no legal accomodations involved, there would be no questions at all about "gay" marriage, nor would there be the slightest question about "common law" marriage.

Finally, I think that there are a lot of specific standards that are legally applied to the concept of "common law" marriages. I know that some states in the US have some sort of common law requirements. I understand that the UK also has common law marriage laws. I am sure that there are such concepts as fidelity, support, and longevity issues that apply to the definition.