Common Law Rule

Question: What are your views on common law marriage vs Legal marriage? I am doing a project for my professional development class, about which is chosen more common law marriage or legal marriage and why. So I would like know what do you think about this subject and which you think is chosen more in the US or your views on common law marriage. Thanks in advance for the all the people who answer I really appreciate your feedback being that this is a very debated subject.

Answer: While it doesn't really speak to your question, something I encounter frequently and don't understand. I am a Mother-Infant nurse. I constantly encounter unmarried couples having their first, second, and even more child together. Our policy is that the name tag on the baby's crib have mom's last name on it. (to cut down on mix-ups that might occur if baby "Smith" belonged to mom "West" and baby "Green" belonged to mom "Smith.") We frequently have dads get irate that "that's MY baby and I want MY name on the crib tag." If they were legally married his last name would most likely BE on the crib tag and the name bracelet. Why do they have to get all macho about last name of the baby when they don't care about the last name of the girlfriend/mom?

Question: What does common law marriage mean in Alberta,Canada? Ok I need some help here. I live in Australia but my mom is in Canada and owns her own house. Now the problem is that she has met some a**hole guy who has moved in with her about 2 years ago. My worry is that what if something happens to her and she needs to go to a nursing home or whatever, can this guy who is 16 years younger than her have claim to her house? Thanks to all.

Answer: It depends on what province. If it is Alberta, than yes. After living together for three years, two people (whomever they are, and regardless of intent) are considered 'married', and if one dies, the other partner is considered the legal spouse. Other provinces don't go so far.

Question: Do you have to change your last name after a common-law marriage? ...my partner and i is planning to have an common-law agreement, i just wanna know if that's the case, do i have to change my last name? because i want to obtain my last name. Help me with this one guys...

Answer: You are not required to change your last name, you can keep your maiden name if you want! :)

Question: Where can I find info about IL common law marriage rights? Does a person who has contributed monies toward mortage, household repairs and remodeling, etc. etc. have any monetary rights if the couple split after 15 years?

Answer: + The State District Attorney's web site may have a link and the State Legislation's law library will definitely have information.

Question: Is there such a thing as reverse common law marriage? When two people are married, but do not live together do anything for each other and don't really even have much contact and it has been going on over a long period of time (several years).What should happen in a divorce? Please help I live in Michigan. And the only reason is hasn't ended yet because of the husbands insurance that the wife needs cause of all her health problems.

Answer: They're still married - even if they're not living together, since marriage is a legal contract, they're still hitched. In the divorce, whichever party files should state that they haven't lived together since whatever year they separated.

Question: How long do you have to live together before its consider common law marriage?

Answer: It depends on the state, and only a few states even have common law marriages. Common law marriage is recognized only in the following states: Alabama Colorado District of Columbia Georgia (if created before 1/1/97) Idaho (if created before 1/1/96) Iowa Kansas Montana New Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only) Ohio (if created before 10/10/91) Oklahoma Pennsylvania (if created before 1/1/05) Rhode Island South Carolina Texas Utah Supposedly its not a set number of years, but I have heard some states are like 7 years. But more generally, its you live together for a significant number of years, hold yourselves as a married couple-refer to each other as husband and wife and use the same last name, File joint taxes, and intend to be married.

Question: How does the rules of divorce work when it's a common law marriage??? my girl is currently married but only by common law (lived w/ him for 7 yrs. Does anyone know how it works when the divorec happens??? Does he get half of her assets,kids ect.??? Need to know cause my girl would end up losin alot of money and it's for her kids so i won't ask her to finallize her divorce if i know he can't take the money she has saved for her kids. She doesn't have a marriage license of anykind, like i said it's just a common law marriage.

Answer: informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute is, historically, a form of interpersonal status in which a man and a woman are not legally married. The term is often mistakenly understood to indicate an interpersonal relationship that is not recognized in law. In fact, a common law marriage is just as legally binding as a statutory or ceremonial marriage in some jurisdictions — it is just formed differently. The essential distinctions of a common law marriage are: Common law marriages are not licensed by government authorities, although they may be legally recorded in the public records of some governmental entities. Common law marriages are not necessarily solemnized. Some states record common law marriages as part of the public record, the same as marriages by license and formal ceremony, Cohabitation alone does not amount to common law marriage; the couple in question must hold themselves out to the world to be husband and wife. In some jurisdictions, a couple must have cohabited and held themselves out to the world as husband and wife for a minimum length of time for the marriage to be recognised as valid. The parties must mutually consent to be married, be of legal age or have their parents' permission. There is no such thing as "common law divorce". Once a marriage is validly contracted, whether according to statute or according to common law, the marriage can only be dissolved by a legal proceeding in the pertinent trial court (usually family court or probate court). Since the mid-1990s, the term "common-law marriage" has been used in parts of Europe and Canada to describe various types of domestic partnership between persons of the same sex as well as persons of the opposite sex. Although these interpersonal statuses are often, as in Hungary, called "common-law marriage" they differ from true common-law marriage in that they are not legally recognized as "marriages" but are a parallel interpersonal status, known in most jurisdictions as "domestic partnership" or "registered partnership".

Question: What is the difference between common law marriage and domestic partnership?

Answer: Common law marriage is marriage that takes effect because of how long you've lived together, but it's only between a man and a woman and entitles the couple to all the rights of marriage. Domestic partnership only exists in certain states, or is granted by some companies for benefit purposes. To my knowledge it does not let the partner inherit social security benefits or military benefits, things like that, which married couples get.

Question: If your not married to the man you live with, and Florida does not have common law marriage? What is your legal title?

Answer: significant other.....maybe domestic partner.....the second one sounds kind of like a homosexual couple though

Question: does new york state recognize common law marriage and if so when did it start?

Answer: no these are the states alabama colorado district of columbia indiana iowa kansas montana new hapshire oklahoma rhode island south carolina texas utah

Question: Why is marriage deemed a common-law rather than a statutory rule in Canada?

Answer: Same in the US, I believe it something we inherited from the British legal system. It probably goes back further than that if you really want to trace it back.

Question: why does the year and a day rule existed at common law?

Answer: One aspect (element) required for almost any crime or tort is causation -- that the prohibited actions were the actual and foreseeable cause of the resulting harm. In olden days, especially when medical knowledge was much more primitive, it was often difficult to determine why someone died -- and whether the death was a result of the harm caused, or was due to some other independent cause. So they came up with a simple rule -- if the death occurred more than a year after the attack/injury, then it could not have been caused by the injury. While that's not medically true, it was the best they could do at the time.

Question: Common Law Tax Rules in Alberta Canada? In Alberta, Canada, is it law that you have to claim common law on your tax return if you are living as common law? I've heard that you could still claim single but this was only in Alberta. I've Googled it until my head hurt and can't find any answers.

Answer: In Canada (not just Alberta), the income tax act defines you as common-law if you've been living with someone in a conjugal relationship for at least one year, or if you live together with a common child. If you are in this circumstance, you must file common-law as your marital status. You cannot actually be one status while claiming another status on your tax return.

Question: what is the effectiveness of the common law and legislation in ousting the privity of contract rule? please could any1 help me answer this question, im a LLB student and need to do this for my essay. any help much appreciated

Answer: Ahh, another example of a simple question made more complicated by the way it is said. Okay, here goes. First, you need to digest the question. Find out what 'privity of contract means'. Even Wikipedia can help you there (see below). But go to your law texts for some exemplar statements by judges and legal scholars. In essence, it means this: a contract is only binding on the people who are party to it. Put more simply, the question is asking you whether or not statutes or case law have changed this rule. Are there statutory or common law exceptions to the rule? Why do these exceptions exist? What trends are there? Is the rule being strengthened or weakened by the legislation or case law? Are there so many exceptions, the rule may as well not exist? I'm not going to answer your question more specifically - Your answer will be specific to your jurisdiction. You got into law school and have access to a library, so you should be able to do this. Just remember to break things down when they seem confusing. Start with your assigned readings, and filter them from the perspective of this question: Has legislation and common law changed the rule? 'Note up' those cases. Then go to the library and check out the book or download a journal article that covers the subject. Another tip - national Supreme Courts often write a lot of history in their decisions, and chronicle changes in the law. Use them where you can, and find them with well chosen search terms in LII, CANLII (or Quicklaw). Good luck.

Question: Is an S-corp subject to IRS/state "common law" rules that treat an independent contractor as an employee? I've had an S-Corp in MA for more than 2 yrs. I have a website, business cards, etc and have had (and continue to have) more than half a dozen clients during this time. My biggest client, whom I've performed services for for a couple yrs is concerned that I can be considered an employee under the IRS and MA common law rules that can penalize the employer (my client) w/ back taxes, benefits, etc) by determining that I should have been treated as an employee. My contention is that as an S-Corp that pays myself a salary (I'm the only employee) as well as unemployment insurance, etc - that I could not be considered an employee. Thus, they are not at risk. Is my analysis correct?

Answer: You work your own hours with your own equipment, and hold yourself out for business to various clients. Your client, even if it is your largest client, even if it sets a deadline, would be not be your employer by any stretch. Actually, being an S-corp isn't the deciding thing; the control is.

Question: Common law rules develop from...? a. statutes enacted by Congress and the state legislatures b. regulations issued by administrative agencies c. decisions of the courts in legal disputes d. uniform laws drafted by legal scholars Doesn't common law come from... practically everywhere? I feel like all of these would contribute in some part to common law so I don't know how to answer this question.. someone help please and thanks ^^ The only one I'm pretty sure isn't right is D.. Ah, it's for my college business law class midterm study guide ^^ And thanks lots!

Answer: A. statutes enacted by Congress and the state legislatures. (is this for a homework assignment?) That strikes me as odd sense they don't usually teach anything about common law in school these days.

Question: discuss the view that the rule against past consideration is an imposition of common law?

Answer: A promise cannot be based upon consideration that was provided before the promise was made. For example, if X promises to reward Y for an act that Y had already performed, the performance of that act, while good consideration for the promise to be rewarded for it, is past consideration and therefore not good consideration. In Eastwood v Kenyon, the guardian of a young girl raised a loan to educate the girl and to improve her marriage prospects. After her marriage, her husband promised to pay off the loan. It was held that the guardian could not enforce the promise as taking out the loan to raise and educate the girl was past consideration, because it was completed before the husband promised to repay it.

Question: common law rules in alberta, canada?

Answer: Yes, it does.

Question: The United States has a common law system. The common law began as? The United States has a common law system. The common law began as a.rules applied in the courts throughout England. b.components of the Roman civil law. c.standards imposed within small pagan communities and tribes. d.principles codified by continental European nations.

Answer: A

Question: become common law and be in the military? me and my bf are both in bmq for the military now and soon we are going to graduate and have to go our seperate ways. we were wondering if theyres a way that you can claim common law between people without living together for a long period of time, this way i would be his first contact and the one that he gets to vidit when he goes on leave. so i guess a better way to put it is, is there anyway to bend the rules of being common law.

Answer: the military will not recognize a common law marriage. as far as being the first to "vidit", i think that's supposed to be visit, he can visit you, but say like for instance he would be going to Iraq, he would not be able to put you down for getting his money if he dies, his next of kin does. you have to be his legal wife.