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class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_Kingdom"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.8</span> <span>United Kingdom</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-United_Kingdom-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-England_and_Wales" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#England_and_Wales"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.8.1</span> <span>England and Wales</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-England_and_Wales-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Scotland" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Scotland"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.8.2</span> <span>Scotland</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Scotland-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-United_States" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_States"> <div 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Available in 17 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-17" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">17 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage" title="Common-law marriage – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Common-law marriage" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vabaabielu" title="Vabaabielu – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Vabaabielu" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrimonio_en_common-law" title="Matrimonio en common-law – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Matrimonio en common-law" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86_%D9%84%D8%A7" title="ازدواج کامن لا – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="ازدواج کامن لا" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariage_de_fait_en_common_law" title="Mariage de fait en common law – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Mariage de fait en common law" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%AC%EC%8B%A4%ED%98%BC" title="사실혼 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="사실혼" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izvanbra%C4%8Dna_zajednica" title="Izvanbračna zajednica – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Izvanbračna zajednica" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A2_%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A8" title="ידוע בציבור – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="ידוע בציבור" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%8B%E5%AE%9F%E5%A9%9A" title="事実婚 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="事実婚" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pnb mw-list-item"><a href="https://pnb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81_%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C" title="عرف عام شادی – Western Punjabi" lang="pnb" hreflang="pnb" data-title="عرف عام شادی" data-language-autonym="پنجابی" data-language-local-name="Western Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پنجابی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%98%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0" title="Ванбрачна заједница – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Ванбрачна заједница" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanbra%C4%8Dna_zajednica" title="Vanbračna zajednica – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Vanbračna zajednica" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samvets%C3%A4ktenskap" title="Samvetsäktenskap – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Samvetsäktenskap" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resm%C3%AE_nik%C3%A2hs%C4%B1z_birliktelik" title="Resmî nikâhsız birliktelik – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Resmî nikâhsız birliktelik" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ur mw-list-item"><a href="https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81_%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C" title="عرف عام شادی – Urdu" lang="ur" hreflang="ur" data-title="عرف عام شادی" data-language-autonym="اردو" data-language-local-name="Urdu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>اردو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4n_nh%C3%A2n_theo_lu%E1%BA%ADt_chung" title="Hôn nhân theo luật chung – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Hôn nhân theo luật chung" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%99%AE%E9%80%9A%E6%B3%95%E5%A9%9A%E5%A7%BB" title="普通法婚姻 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="普通法婚姻" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1377445#sitelinks-wikipedia" 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<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background:#aaddff; color:#000;;color: var(--color-base)">Marriage and other unions and status</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Types_of_marriages" title="Types of marriages">Types of marriages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cohabitation" title="Cohabitation">Cohabitation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Concubinage" title="Concubinage">Concubinage</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Common-law marriage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Civil_union" title="Civil union">Civil union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Domestic_partnership" title="Domestic partnership">Domestic partnership</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background:#aaddff; color:#000;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Marriage_law" title="Marriage law">Validity 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and NI)]</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Custody_evaluation" title="Custody evaluation">Custody evaluator (US)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parenting_coordinator" title="Parenting coordinator">Parenting coordinator (US)</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background:#aaddff; color:#000;;color: var(--color-base)">Children's issues</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Paternity_law" title="Paternity law">Paternity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DNA_paternity_testing" title="DNA paternity testing">DNA paternity testing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legitimacy_(family_law)" title="Legitimacy (family law)">Legitimacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Child_custody" title="Child custody">Child custody</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_guardian" title="Legal guardian">Legal guardian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adoption" 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href="/wiki/Conflict_of_marriage_laws" title="Conflict of marriage laws">Marriage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hague_Adoption_Convention" title="Hague Adoption Convention">Hague Convention (adoption)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_child_abduction" title="International child abduction">International child abduction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hague_Convention_on_the_Civil_Aspects_of_International_Child_Abduction" title="Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction">Hague Convention (child abduction)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hague_Convention_on_the_International_Recovery_of_Child_Support_and_Other_Forms_of_Family_Maintenance" title="Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance">Hague Convention (maintenance)</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background:#aaddff; color:#000;;color: var(--color-base)">Family and criminal code <br /> (or criminal law)</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bigamy" title="Bigamy">Bigamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Child_abuse" title="Child abuse">Child abuse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Child_Protective_Services" class="mw-redirect" title="Child Protective Services">CPS (US)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Child_selling" title="Child selling">Child selling</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Domestic_violence" title="Domestic violence">Domestic violence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Incest" title="Incest">Incest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legality_of_incest" title="Legality of incest">Legality of incest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parental_child_abduction" title="Parental child abduction">Parental child abduction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parental_responsibility_(access_and_custody)" title="Parental responsibility (access and custody)">Parental duties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parents%27_rights_movement" title="Parents' rights movement">Parents' rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paternity_fraud" title="Paternity fraud">Paternity fraud</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paternal_rights_and_abortion" title="Paternal rights and abortion">Paternal rights and abortion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Right_to_family_life" class="mw-redirect" title="Right to family life">Right to family life</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Family_law" title="Template:Family law"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Family_law" title="Template talk:Family law"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Family_law" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Family law"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Common-law marriage</b>, also known as <b>non-ceremonial marriage</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <b><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">sui iuris</i></span> marriage</b>, <b>informal marriage</b>, <b>de facto marriage</b>, <b>more uxorio</b> or <b>marriage by habit and repute</b>, is a marriage that results from the parties' agreement to consider themselves married, followed by cohabitation, rather than through a statutorily defined process. Not all <a href="/wiki/Jurisdiction" title="Jurisdiction">jurisdictions</a> permit common law marriage, but will typically respect the validity of such a marriage lawfully entered in another state or country. </p><p>The original concept of a "<a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common-law</a>" marriage is one considered valid by both partners, but not formally recorded with a state or religious registry, nor celebrated in a formal civil or religious service. In effect, the act of the couple representing themselves to others as being married and organizing their relation as if they were married, means they are married. </p><p>The term <i>common-law marriage</i> (or similar) has wider informal use, often to denote relations that are not legally recognized as marriages. It is often used colloquially or by the media to refer to <a href="/wiki/Cohabitation" title="Cohabitation">cohabiting couples</a>, regardless of any legal rights or religious implications involved. This can create confusion in regard to the term and to the legal rights of unmarried partners (in addition to the actual status of the couple referred to).<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Terminology">Terminology</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Terminology"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Common-law marriage is a marriage that takes legal effect without the prerequisites of a marriage license or participation in a marriage ceremony. The marriage occurs when two people who are legally capable of being married, and who intend to be married, live together as a married couple and hold themselves out to the world as a married couple.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Common-law_marriage_vs._cohabitation">Common-law marriage vs. cohabitation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Common-law marriage vs. cohabitation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term "common-law marriage" is often used incorrectly to describe various types of couple relationships, such as <a href="/wiki/Cohabitation" title="Cohabitation">cohabitation</a> (whether or not registered) or other legally formalized relations. Although these interpersonal relationships are often called "common-law marriage", they differ from its original meaning in that they are not legally recognized as "marriages", but may be a parallel interpersonal status such as a "domestic partnership", "registered partnership", "common law partner" "conjugal union", or "civil union". Non-marital relationship contracts are not necessarily recognized from one jurisdiction to another. </p><p>In Canada, while some provinces may extend to couples in marriage-like relationships many of the rights and responsibilities of a marriage, they are not legally considered married. They may be legally defined as "unmarried <a href="/wiki/Spouse" title="Spouse">spouses</a>" and for many purposes such as taxes and financial claims, and within those contexts treated the same as married spouses.<sup id="cite_ref-clicklaw_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-clicklaw-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A 2008 poll in the UK showed that 51% of respondents incorrectly believed that cohabitants had the same rights as married couples.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In Scotland, common-law marriage does not exist, although there was a type of irregular marriage called 'marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute' which could apply to couples in special circumstances until 2006, and was abolished by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 (irregular marriages established before 4 May 2006 are recognised).<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In ancient Greece and Rome, marriages were private agreements between individuals and estates. Community recognition of a marriage was largely what qualified it as a marriage. The state had only limited interests in assessing the legitimacy of marriages. Normally, civil and religious officials took no part in marriage ceremonies and did not keep registries. There were several more or less formal ceremonies to choose from (partly interchangeable, but sometimes with different legal ramifications) as well as informal arrangements. It was relatively common for couples to cohabit with no ceremony; cohabiting for a moderate period of time was sufficient to make it a marriage. Cohabiting for the purpose of marriage carried with it no social stigma.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>In medieval Europe, marriage came under the jurisdiction of <a href="/wiki/Canon_law" title="Canon law">canon law</a>, which recognized as a valid marriage one in which the parties stated that they took one another as wife and husband, even in absence of any witnesses.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Catholic_Church" title="Catholic Church">Catholic Church</a> forbade <a href="/wiki/Clandestinity_(Catholic_canon_law)" title="Clandestinity (Catholic canon law)">clandestine marriage</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Fourth_Lateran_Council" class="mw-redirect" title="Fourth Lateran Council">Fourth Lateran Council</a> (1215), which required all marriages to be announced in a church by a priest. The <a href="/wiki/Council_of_Trent" title="Council of Trent">Council of Trent</a> (1545–1563) introduced more specific requirements, ruling that future marriages would be valid only if witnessed by the pastor of the parish or the local ordinary (the bishop of the diocese) or by the delegate of one of said witnesses, the marriage being invalid otherwise, even if witnessed by a Catholic priest. The Tridentine canons did not bind the <a href="/wiki/Protestants" class="mw-redirect" title="Protestants">Protestants</a> or the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox" class="mw-redirect" title="Eastern Orthodox">Eastern Orthodox</a>, but clandestine marriages were impossible for the latter since their validity required the presence of a priest. England abolished clandestine or common-law marriages in the <a href="/wiki/Marriage_Act_1753" class="mw-redirect" title="Marriage Act 1753">Marriage Act 1753</a>, requiring marriages to be performed by a priest of the <a href="/wiki/Church_of_England" title="Church of England">Church of England</a> unless the participants in the marriage were <a href="/wiki/Jews" title="Jews">Jews</a> or <a href="/wiki/Quakers" title="Quakers">Quakers</a>. The Act applied to <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a> but not to Scotland,<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>note 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which retained its own legal system by the <a href="/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1707" title="Acts of Union 1707">Acts of Union 1707</a>. To get around the requirements of the Marriage Act, such as minimum age requirements, couples would go to <a href="/wiki/Gretna_Green" title="Gretna Green">Gretna Green</a>, in the south of Scotland, or other border villages such as <a href="/wiki/Coldstream" title="Coldstream">Coldstream</a>, to get married under Scots law. The Marriage Act 1753 also did not apply to Britain's overseas colonies of the time and so common-law marriages continued to be recognized in what are now the United States and Canada. </p><p>Marriages <i>per verba de praesenti</i>, sometimes known as common-law marriages, were an agreement to marry, rather than a marriage.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Legislation">Legislation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Legislation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Australia">Australia</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Australia"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Australian_family_law" title="Australian family law">Australian family law</a></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Common-law_marriage" title="Special:EditPage/Common-law marriage">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">June 2022</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> does not have common law marriage as it is understood under common law. The term used for relationships between any two persons who are not married, but are living in certain domestic circumstances, may vary between states and territories, although the term <i><a href="/wiki/De_facto_relationship" class="mw-redirect" title="De facto relationship">de facto relationship</a></i> is often used. </p><p>Since March 1, 2009, de facto relationships have been recognized in the Family Law Act (Commonwealth), applicable in states that have referred their jurisdiction on de facto couples to the Commonwealth's jurisdiction. In <a href="/wiki/Western_Australia" title="Western Australia">Western Australia</a>, the only state that has not referred its jurisdiction, state legislation is still valid. There is also no federal recognition of de facto relationships existing outside of Australia (see <a href="/wiki/Section_51(xxxvii)_of_the_Australian_Constitution" class="mw-redirect" title="Section 51(xxxvii) of the Australian Constitution">Section 51(xxxvii) of the Australian Constitution</a>), and so this is also a state matter. Regulation of <i>de facto</i> relations is a combination of federal and <a href="/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Australia" title="States and territories of Australia">state/territory</a> laws. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Canada">Canada</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Canada"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444" /><table class="plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-move" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Split-arrows.svg/50px-Split-arrows.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Split-arrows.svg/75px-Split-arrows.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Split-arrows.svg/100px-Split-arrows.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="60" data-file-height="20" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">It has been suggested that this section be <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Splitting" title="Wikipedia:Splitting">split</a> out into another article. (<a href="/wiki/Talk:Common-law_marriage" title="Talk:Common-law marriage">Discuss</a>) <small><i>(July 2022)</i></small></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Common-law_relationships_in_Manitoba" title="Common-law relationships in Manitoba">Common-law relationships in Manitoba</a> and <a href="/wiki/Marriage_%27%C3%A0_la_fa%C3%A7on_du_pays%27" class="mw-redirect" title="Marriage 'à la façon du pays'">Marriage 'à la façon du pays'</a></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> does not have the institution of common-law marriage within the meaning of the legal concept of such a marriage under the common-law, although common-law relationships are recognized for certain purposes in Canada.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Canada" title="Parliament of Canada">Parliament of Canada</a> has exclusive legislative authority over marriage and divorce in Canada under section 91(26) of the <i><a href="/wiki/Constitution_Act,_1867" title="Constitution Act, 1867">Constitution Act, 1867</a></i>. Marriage is regulated throughout Canada by the <i><a href="/wiki/Civil_Marriage_Act" title="Civil Marriage Act">Civil Marriage Act</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and violations of the requirements of this act are subject to the <a href="/wiki/Criminal_Code_(Canada)" title="Criminal Code (Canada)"><i>Criminal Code of Canada</i></a> ("Offences Against Conjugal Rights" and "Unlawful Solemnization of Marriage" chapters, articles 290–296), also applicable throughout Canada.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By contrast, the regulation of non-marital relations, which are often referred to as "common-law spouses", falls largely under <a href="/wiki/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada" title="Provinces and territories of Canada">provincial</a> law. As such, the legal definition and many implications of marriage-like relationships fall under provincial jurisdiction. As <a href="/wiki/Family_law" title="Family law">family law</a> varies between provinces, there are differences between the provinces regarding the recognition of common-law relationships. Most such regulations deal with relations that are romantic/sexual in nature, but some, such as <a href="/wiki/Adult_interdependent_relationship_in_Alberta" title="Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta">adult interdependent relationships in Alberta</a>, do not have such a requirement and can apply to platonic relations, including relatives. In addition, the term "common law" appears informally in documents from the federal government.<sup id="cite_ref-CRA_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CRA-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Common-law partners may be eligible for various federal government spousal benefits. Various laws include "common-law status", which automatically takes effect when two people (of any sex) have lived together in a conjugal relationship for a minimum period. In 1999, in its ruling <i><a href="/wiki/M._v._H." class="mw-redirect" title="M. v. H.">M. v. H.</a></i>, the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Canada" title="Supreme Court of Canada">Supreme Court of Canada</a> decided that <a href="/wiki/Same-sex_marriage" title="Same-sex marriage">same-sex partners</a> would also be included in common-law relationships.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Around one-fifth of Canadian couples are in common-law relationships, a three-fold increase from 1981, according to 2016 data from Statistics Canada.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Federal">Federal</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Federal"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Canada_Revenue_Agency" title="Canada Revenue Agency">Canada Revenue Agency</a> (CRA) states, as of 2007, "living common-law" means living with a person in a conjugal relationship without being married and at least one of the following is true:<sup id="cite_ref-CRA_15-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CRA-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ol><li>the couple has been living in a <a href="/wiki/Marriage" title="Marriage">conjugal</a> relationship for at least 12 continuous months;</li> <li>the couple are parents of a child by birth or adoption; or</li> <li>one of the couple has custody and control of the other's child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age) and the child is wholly dependent on that person for support.</li></ol> <p>Canada recognizes unmarried partners under certain circumstances for the purpose of <a href="/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada" title="Immigration to Canada">immigration</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Department_of_Immigration,_Refugees_and_Citizenship" class="mw-redirect" title="Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship">Citizenship & Immigration Canada</a> states that a common-law partner refers to a person who is living in a conjugal relationship with another person (opposite or same sex), and has done so continuously for a period of at least one year.<sup id="cite_ref-CIC_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CIC-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A conjugal relationship exists when there is a significant degree of commitment between two people. This can be shown with evidence that the couple share the same home, that they support each other financially and emotionally, that they have children together, or that they present themselves in public as a couple. Common-law partners who are unable to live together or appear in public together because of legal restrictions in their home country or who have been separated for reasons beyond their control (for example, civil war or armed conflict) may still qualify and should be included on an application. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Alberta">Alberta</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Alberta"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>See <a href="/wiki/Adult_interdependent_relationship_in_Alberta" title="Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta">Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="British_Columbia">British Columbia</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: British Columbia"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term "common-law marriage" does not appear in British Columbia (BC) law. A distinction is made between being a <i>spouse</i> and being <i>married</i>. Married couples include only those who have engaged in a legal marriage ceremony and have received a marriage licence. <i>Spouses</i> include married couples as well as those, of same or opposite sex, who satisfy criteria for being in a <i>marriage-like relationship</i> for a time period that depends on the law that is being considered. Hence the meaning of the term <i>unmarried spouse</i> in BC depends on the legal context. The criteria for a relationship being accepted as <i>marriage-like</i> include cohabitation for at least the specified period, unbroken by excessively long intervals that are unexplained by exigent circumstances. If dispute arises about whether the relationship was <i>marriage-like</i>, a court would consider a comprehensive set of further criteria including the domestic and financial arrangements, degree and nature of intimacy, and the sense of the relationship presented to friends and families (especially by each spouse to his/her own family). "Mere roommates will never qualify as unmarried spouses. There needs to be some other dimension to the relationship indicative of a commitment between the parties and their shared belief that they are in a special relationship with each other."<sup id="cite_ref-clicklaw_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-clicklaw-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The criteria do not exclude the existence of a previous marriage to a third person during the period of the <i>marriage-like relationship</i> of the unmarried spouses. Hence a person may have more than one spouse at the same time.<sup id="cite_ref-clicklaw_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-clicklaw-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-LSS_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LSS-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The implications of becoming an unmarried spouse include: </p> <ul><li><i>Child support</i>. A spouse is responsible for contributing towards support of a child and possibly the other spouse if he/she is a biological or adoptive parent, or has contributed to support of the child for at least one year during the "marriage-like relationship" with the child's parent and the parent applies to the court for continuing support after separation and within one year of the last support contribution. (The contribution towards child support expected from a non-parent is not as great as from a parent.)</li> <li><i>Financial support and division of property and debts after separation</i>. If the "marriage-like relationship" has continued for two years, the laws that apply upon separation are the same as those that apply to married couples, according to the "Estate Administration Act".<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> All property and debts acquired prior to the relationship are exempt. If no agreement between the partners about property and/or debts is written during or after the relationship, then the law specifies equal sharing of all acquired during the relationship, as well as any changes in the value of those brought into the relationship. (There is an exemption from equal sharing for certain categories, such as gifts and inheritances received by one spouse.) The degree of participation of each spouse in the acquisition of property or debt does not affect the sharing. Financial support may also be requested from the former spouse.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A claim for financial support or the division of property and debt must be made within two years of the date of separation.</li> <li><i>Inheritance</i>. A spouse is eligible for inheritance if the "marriage-like relationship" has existed for at least two years immediately prior to the death of the other spouse. All property and debts held in common are fully inherited automatically by the surviving spouse. Those brought into the relationship are subject to any existing valid will, which may be vulnerable to challenge if it does not provide for the surviving spouse and any children.</li> <li><i>Benefits from government programs</i>. Access to benefits from government programs or policies can become more (or less) available upon becoming an unmarried spouse. In general, these become similar or identical to those of married couples, but the criteria for qualifying as <i>unmarried spouses</i>, such as longevity of the relationship, differ for the various programs. Social assistance is often immediately reduced when there is perceived to be a "spouse in the house", regardless of the nature of the relationship.<sup id="cite_ref-clicklaw_5-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-clicklaw-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Manitoba">Manitoba</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Manitoba"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>See <a href="/wiki/Common-law_relationships_in_Manitoba" title="Common-law relationships in Manitoba">Common-law relationships in Manitoba</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="New_Brunswick">New Brunswick</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: New Brunswick"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/New_Brunswick" title="New Brunswick">New Brunswick</a>, a couple must live together for three years or have a natural or adopted child together. They cannot have been married to another person during this time.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Nova_Scotia">Nova Scotia</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Nova Scotia"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>See <a href="/wiki/Domestic_partnership_in_Nova_Scotia" title="Domestic partnership in Nova Scotia">Domestic partnership in Nova Scotia</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Ontario">Ontario</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Ontario"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Ontario" title="Ontario">Ontario</a>, section 29 of the <a href="/wiki/Family_Law_Act_(Ontario)" title="Family Law Act (Ontario)"><i>Family Law Act</i></a> specifically recognizes unmarried spouses in dealing with <a href="/wiki/Alimony" title="Alimony">spousal support</a> issues. The definition is having cohabited continuously for not less than three years or "in a relationship of some permanence" if parents of a child. However, common-law spouses do not have automatic rights under the <i>Family Law Act</i> to their spouses' property (section 29 applies only to the support sections of the Act). Thus, common-law partners do not have a statutory right to divide property in a breakup, and must ask courts to look to concepts such as the constructive or resulting <a href="/wiki/Trust_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Trust law">trust</a> to divide property in an <a href="/wiki/Equity_(law)" title="Equity (law)">equitable</a> manner between partners. </p><p>Married people may also have a recognized common-law spouse even before being divorced from the first spouse.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Another difference that distinguishes common-law spouses from married partners is that a common-law partner can be <a href="/wiki/Spousal_testimonial_privilege" class="mw-redirect" title="Spousal testimonial privilege">compelled to testify against his or her partner in a court of law</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Quebec">Quebec</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Quebec"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Civil_Code_of_Quebec" title="Civil Code of Quebec">Civil Code of Quebec</a> has never recognized a common-law partnership as a form of marriage. However, many laws in Quebec explicitly apply to common-law partners (called <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">conjoints de fait</i></span>) in "<span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/De_facto" title="De facto">de facto</a></i></span> unions" (marriages being "<span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/De_jure" title="De jure">de jure</a></i></span> unions") as they do to married spouses.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Same-sex partners are also recognized as <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">conjoints de fait</i></span> in <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">de facto</i></span> unions, for the purpose of social benefit laws.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, common-law partners do not have any legal rights between them, such as <a href="/wiki/Alimony" title="Alimony">alimony</a>, <a href="/wiki/Family_patrimony" title="Family patrimony">family patrimony</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensatory_allowance&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Compensatory allowance (page does not exist)">compensatory allowance</a> and <a href="/wiki/Matrimonial_regime" title="Matrimonial regime">matrimonial regime</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Quebec_Court_of_Appeal" title="Quebec Court of Appeal">Quebec Court of Appeal</a> ruled this restriction to be unconstitutional in 2010; but on January 25, 2013 the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Canada" title="Supreme Court of Canada">Supreme Court of Canada</a> ruled that common-law couples do not have the same rights as married couples.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p> A 2002 amendment to the Civil Code recognizes a type of domestic partnership called a <a href="/wiki/Civil_union" title="Civil union">civil union</a> that is similar to marriage and is likewise available to same-sex partners. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /></p><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Civil_unions_in_Quebec" title="Civil unions in Quebec">Civil unions in Quebec</a></div><p> No citizen of Quebec can be recognized under family law to be in both a civilly married state and a <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">conjoint de fait</i></span> within the same time frame. Divorce from one conjugal relationship must occur before another conjugal relationship may occur in family law. </p><p>Same-sex partners can also marry legally in Quebec, as elsewhere in Canada. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Saskatchewan">Saskatchewan</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Saskatchewan"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Saskatchewan" title="Saskatchewan">Saskatchewan</a>, common-law relations are regulated by <i>The Family Property Act</i><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <i>The Family Maintenance Act</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Queen's Bench justices have sanctioned common-law relationships as simultaneously existing in family law while one or more of the spouses were also civilly married to others. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Denmark">Denmark</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Denmark"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>§ 27 of the historical <a href="/wiki/Jyske_Lov" class="mw-redirect" title="Jyske Lov">Jyske Lov</a>, which covered <a href="/wiki/Funen" title="Funen">Funen</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jutland" title="Jutland">Jutland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Schleswig" class="mw-redirect" title="Schleswig">Schleswig</a> in the years 1241–1683, reads: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>If anyone has a mistress in his home for three winters and obviously sleeps with her, and she commands lock and key and obviously eats and drinks with him, then she shall be his wife and rightful lady of the house.</p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="India">India</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: India"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Protection_of_Women_from_Domestic_Violence_Act,_2005" title="Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005">Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005</a></div> <p>In the case of <i>D. Velusamy v D. Patchaiammal</i> (2010), the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_India" title="Supreme Court of India">Supreme Court of India</a> defined, with reference to the Domestic Violence Act of 2005, "a relationship in the nature of marriage" as "akin to a common law marriage". The Supreme Court declared that the following are required to satisfy the conditions for a common-law marriage or a relationship in the nature of marriage: </p> <ol><li>Must be of <a href="/wiki/Marriageable_age" title="Marriageable age">marriageable age</a>.</li> <li>Must not be already married and is qualified to marry.</li> <li>Must be living together in a way that seems to society that the couple is married</li> <li>Must have cohabited for a "significant" period of time.</li> <li>Must be living together voluntarily.</li></ol> <p>There is no specified time for the common-law marriage to actually take effect but needs it to be "significant". The case clarified that there was a difference between "live-in relationships", "a relationship in the nature of marriage", casual relationships and having a "keep". Only "a relationship in the nature of marriage" can afford the rights and protections conferred in the Domestics Violence Act of 2005 and Section 125 of the Criminal Code, which include <a href="/wiki/Alimony" title="Alimony">alimony</a> for the female partner (unless she leaves her partner for no reason, had an affair with another man, or left with a mutual understanding, in which case alimony amounts must be settled mutually too), allowances, shelter and protections for the female partner in case of abuse, right to live in her partner's house and child custody. Furthermore, children born in such relationships will be granted allowances until they reach full age and, provided the person is not a married adult daughter, if the person is of full age and is handicapped. Furthermore, the <a href="/wiki/The_Hindu_Marriage_Act,_1955" class="mw-redirect" title="The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955">Hindu Marriage Act</a> stipulates that <a href="/wiki/Illegitimate_children" class="mw-redirect" title="Illegitimate children">children born out of wedlock</a> (including to live-in relationships, relationships in the nature of marriage and casual relationships) are treated as equivalent to legitimate children in terms of inheritance.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:1_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, the Hindu Marriage Act is only applicable if the children's parent is Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ireland">Ireland</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Ireland"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a> does not recognize common-law marriage, but the <a href="/wiki/Civil_Partnership_and_Certain_Rights_and_Obligations_of_Cohabitants_Act_2010" title="Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010">Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010</a> (in force between 2010 and 2015) gives some rights to unmarried cohabitants. Following the <a href="/wiki/Marriage_Act_2015" title="Marriage Act 2015">Marriage Act 2015</a> which legalized same-sex marriage in Ireland, civil partnerships are no longer available in Ireland; couples already in a civil partnership may apply to convert their civil partnership into marriage or may remain in a civil partnership which will continue to be valid, if contracted before November 2015.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A <a href="/wiki/Thirty-ninth_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_(The_Family)_Bill_2023" class="mw-redirect" title="Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023">constitutional amendment</a> that would have recognised family as including unmarried 'durable' relationships, proposed in March 2024, failed by 67%.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Israel">Israel</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Israel"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a>, courts and a few statutes (such as social security which grants death and disability benefits) have recognized an institute of <span title="Hebrew-language text"><i lang="he-Latn">yeduim batsibur</i></span> (<a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A2_%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A8" class="extiw" title="he:ידוע בציבור"><span title="Hebrew-language text"><span lang="he" dir="rtl">ידועים בציבור</span></span></a>) meaning a couple who are "known in the public" (lit. translation) as living together as husband and wife. Generally speaking the couple needs to satisfy two tests which are: 1) "intimate life similar to married couple, relationship based on same emotions of affection and love, dedication and faithfulness, showing they have chosen to share their fate" (<a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Israel" title="Supreme Court of Israel">Supreme Court of Israel</a>, judge <a href="/wiki/Zvi_Berenson" title="Zvi Berenson">Zvi Berenson</a> (intimacy test)), and 2) sharing household (economic test). In addition courts usually are more likely to recognize such relationship as marriage for granting benefits if the couple could not get married under the Israeli law.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Israel's common-law status grants Israeli couples virtually the same benefits and privileges as <a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_Israel" title="Marriage in Israel">married couples in Israel</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Kuwait">Kuwait</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Kuwait"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Common-law marriage or partnerships have some limited recognition in <a href="/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> in the cases of expatriate familial disputes such as <a href="/wiki/Alimony" title="Alimony">maintenance</a> payments and <a href="/wiki/Child_support" title="Child support">child support</a> dues. Family courts use the law of the male partner or husband's country of nationality to deal with family matters and hence if the male partner comes from a country where partnerships or other similar unions are recognised, then a Kuwaiti court can also consider it. However, intercourse outside of marriage is illegal in Kuwait so such recognition can only practically apply in exceptional cases like illegitimate children born abroad and the parents having since separated abroad but relocated to Kuwait. No recognition is extended to couples where one or both parties are Kuwaiti or to <a href="/wiki/Homosexuality" title="Homosexuality">homosexual</a> couples.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="United_Kingdom">United Kingdom</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: United Kingdom"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Cohabitation_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cohabitation in the United Kingdom">Cohabitation in the United Kingdom</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="England_and_Wales">England and Wales</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: England and Wales"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term "common-law marriage" has been used in <a href="/wiki/England_and_Wales" title="England and Wales">England and Wales</a> to refer to unmarried, cohabiting <a href="/wiki/Heterosexuality" title="Heterosexuality">heterosexual</a> couples.<sup id="cite_ref-Probert,_R._p.1_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Probert,_R._p.1-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, this is merely a social usage. The term does not confer on cohabiting parties any of the rights or obligations enjoyed by spouses or <a href="/wiki/Civil_partnership" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil partnership">civil partners</a>. Unmarried partners are recognised for certain purposes in legislation: <i>e.g.,</i> for means-tested benefits. For example, in the <a href="/wiki/Jobseeker%27s_Allowance" title="Jobseeker's Allowance">Jobseekers Act 1995</a>, "unmarried couple" was defined as a man and woman who are not married to each other but who are living together in the same household as husband and wife other than in prescribed circumstances. But in many areas of the law cohabitants enjoy no special rights. Thus when a cohabiting relationship ends, ownership of any assets will be decided by <a href="/wiki/Property_law" title="Property law">property law</a>. The courts have no discretion to reallocate assets, as occurs on <a href="/wiki/Divorce" title="Divorce">divorce</a>. </p><p>It is sometimes mistakenly claimed<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> that before the <a href="/wiki/Marriage_Act_1753" class="mw-redirect" title="Marriage Act 1753">Marriage Act 1753</a> cohabiting couples would enjoy the protection of a "common-law marriage". In fact, neither the name nor the concept of "common-law marriage" was known at this time.<sup id="cite_ref-Probert,_R._p.1_43-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Probert,_R._p.1-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Far from being treated as if they were married, couples known to be cohabiting risked prosecution by the <a href="/wiki/Ecclesiastical_court" title="Ecclesiastical court">church courts</a> for <a href="/wiki/Fornication" title="Fornication">fornication</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>"Contract marriages" (or more strictly marriages <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">per verba de praesenti</i></span>) could be presumed, before the <a href="/wiki/Marriage_Act_1753" class="mw-redirect" title="Marriage Act 1753">Marriage Act 1753</a>, to have been undertaken by mutual consent by couples who lived together without undergoing a marriage ceremony. However, they were not understood as having the legal status of a valid marriage until the decision in <i>Dalrymple</i> clarified this in 1811.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This decision affected the subsequent development of English law due to the fact that the Marriage Act 1753 did not apply overseas. English courts later held that it was possible to marry by a simple exchange of consent in the <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">colonies</a>, although most of the disputed ceremonies involved the ministrations of a priest or other clergyman. </p><p>The English courts also upheld marriages by consent in territories not under British control but only if it had been impossible for the parties to marry according to the requirements of the local law.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The late 1950s and early 1960s saw a spate of cases arising out of the <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a>, with marriages in <a href="/wiki/Prisoner-of-war_camp" title="Prisoner-of-war camp">prisoner-of-war camps</a> in <a href="/wiki/Germans" title="Germans">German</a>-occupied <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> posing a particular problem for judges.<sup id="cite_ref-Probert,_R._p.1_43-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Probert,_R._p.1-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (Some British civilians interned by the <a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japanese</a> during the Second World War were held to be legally married after contracting marriages under circumstances where the formal requirements could not be met.) To this limited extent, English law does recognise what has become known as a "common-law marriage". English legal texts initially used the term to refer exclusively to <i>American</i> common-law marriages.<sup id="cite_ref-Probert,_R._p.1_43-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Probert,_R._p.1-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Only in the 1960s did the term "common-law marriage" begin to be used in its contemporary sense to denote unmarried, cohabiting heterosexual relationships,<sup id="cite_ref-Probert,_R._p.1_43-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Probert,_R._p.1-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and not until the 1970s and 1980s did the term begin to lose its negative connotations.<sup id="cite_ref-Probert,_R._p.1_43-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Probert,_R._p.1-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The use of the term is likely to have encouraged cohabiting couples to believe falsely that they enjoyed legal rights.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2020)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> By the end of the 1970s a myth had emerged that marrying made little difference to one's legal rights, and this may have fuelled the subsequent increase in the number of couples living together and having children together outside marriage.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Scotland">Scotland</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Scotland"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_Scotland" title="Marriage in Scotland">Marriage in Scotland</a></div> <p>Under <a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">Scots law</a>, there have been several forms of "irregular marriage", among them: </p> <ol><li>Irregular marriage by declaration <i>de praesenti</i> – declaring in the presence of two witnesses that one takes someone as one's wife or husband.</li> <li>Irregular marriage conditional on consummation</li> <li>Marriage contracted by correspondence</li> <li>Irregular marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute</li></ol> <p>The <a href="/w/index.php?title=Marriage_(Scotland)_Act_1939&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939 (page does not exist)">Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939</a> provided that the first three forms of irregular marriage could not be formed on or after 1 January 1940. However, any irregular marriages contracted prior to 1940 can still be upheld. This act also allowed the creation of regular civil marriages in Scotland for the first time (the civil registration system started in Scotland on 1 January 1855). </p><p>Until this act, the only regular marriage available in Scotland was a religious marriage. Irregular marriages were not socially accepted and many people who decided to contract them did so where they were relatively unknown. In some years up to 60% of the marriages in the Blythswood Registration District of Glasgow were "irregular".<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2020)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>In 2006, "marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute", the last form of irregular marriage that could still be contracted in Scotland, was abolished in the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Family_Law_(Scotland)_Act_2006&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 (page does not exist)">Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006</a>. Until that act had come into force, Scotland remained the only European jurisdiction never to have totally abolished the old-style common-law marriage. For this law to apply, the time the couple had lived together continuously had to exceed 20 days. </p><p>As in the American jurisdictions that have preserved it, this type of marriage can be difficult to prove. It is not enough for the couple to have lived together for several years, but they must have been generally regarded as husband and wife. Their friends and neighbors, for example, must have known them as Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so (or at least they must have held themselves out to their neighbors and friends as Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so). Also, like American common-law marriages, it is a form of lawful marriage, so that people cannot be common-law spouses, or husband and wife by cohabitation with habit and repute, if one of them was legally married to somebody else when the relationship began. </p><p>It is a testament to the influence of American legal thought and English colloquial usage that, in a study conducted by the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Scottish Executive</a> in 2000,<sup id="cite_ref-scotsurvey_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-scotsurvey-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> 57% of Scots surveyed believed that couples who merely live together have a "common-law marriage". In fact, that term is unknown in Scots law, which uses "marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute". </p><p>Otherwise, men and women who otherwise behave as husband and wife did <i>not</i> have a common-law marriage or a marriage by habit and repute merely because they set up housekeeping together, but they <i>must</i> have held themselves out to the world as husband and wife. (In many jurisdictions,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words"><span title="The material near this tag possibly uses too vague attribution or weasel words. (November 2020)">which?</span></a></i>]</sup> they must do so for a certain length of time for the marriage to be valid.) The Scottish Survey is not clear on these points.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research"><span title="The material near this tag possibly contains original research. (November 2020)">original research?</span></a></i>]</sup> It notes that "common-law marriage" is not part of Scots law,<sup id="cite_ref-scotsurvey_49-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-scotsurvey-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but it fails to note that "marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute", which is the same thing but in name, <i>was</i> part of Scots law until 2006.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research"><span title="The material near this tag possibly contains original research. (November 2020)">original research?</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="United_States">United States</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: United States"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Common-law_marriage_in_the_United_States" title="Common-law marriage in the United States">Common-law marriage in the United States</a></div> <p>In the U.S., most states have abolished common-law marriage by statute. However, common-law marriage can still be contracted in <a href="/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a>, <a href="/wiki/Iowa" title="Iowa">Iowa</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kansas" title="Kansas">Kansas</a>, <a href="/wiki/Montana" title="Montana">Montana</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rhode_Island" title="Rhode Island">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="/wiki/Texas" title="Texas">Texas</a>, <a href="/wiki/Utah" title="Utah">Utah</a>, <a href="/wiki/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma">Oklahoma</a> and the <a href="/wiki/District_of_Columbia" class="mw-redirect" title="District of Columbia">District of Columbia</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Once they meet the requirements of common-law marriage, couples in those true common-law marriages are considered legally married for all purposes and in all circumstances. </p><p>All U.S. jurisdictions recognize common-law marriages that were validly contracted in the originating jurisdiction, although the extent to which the U.S. Constitution requires interstate marriage recognition has not been fully articulated by the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States">Supreme Court</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, absent legal registration or similar notice of the marriage, the parties to a common law marriage or their eventual heirs may have difficulty proving their relationship to be marriage. Some states provide for registration of an informal or common-law marriage based on the declaration of each of the spouses on a state-issued form.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="English-speaking_Caribbean">English-speaking Caribbean</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: English-speaking Caribbean"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Due to their colonial past, the islands of the <a href="/wiki/English-speaking_Caribbean" class="mw-redirect" title="English-speaking Caribbean">English-speaking Caribbean</a> have statutes concerning common-law marriage similar to those in England. However, in the Caribbean, the term "common-law" marriage is also widely described, by custom as much as by law, to be any long term relationship between male and female partners. Such unions are widespread, making up a significant percentage of families, many of which have children and may last for many years. The reasons for people choosing common-law arrangements is debated in sociological literature. Although the acceptance of this type of union varies, men being more inclined to consider them as legitimate than women, they have become an institution.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Free_love" title="Free love">Free love</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Nikah_%27urfi" title="Nikah 'urfi">Nikah 'urfi</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Civil_solidarity_pact" title="Civil solidarity pact">Pacte civil de solidarité</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Putative_marriage" title="Putative marriage">Putative marriage</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes_and_references">Notes and references</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Notes and references"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Notes">Notes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Scotland abolished marriage by habit and repute in 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="References">References</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626" /><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 December</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Family+Formation+and+Dissolution%3A+Trends+and+Attitudes+Among+the+Scottish+Population+-+Research+Findings&rft.pub=Scottish+Government&rft.date=2004-03-24&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scotland.gov.uk%2Fcru%2Fresfinds%2Flsf43-00.asp&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACommon-law+marriage" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/table_marriage">"Marriage Laws of the Fifty States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Wex" title="Wex">Wex</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/Legal_Information_Institute" title="Legal Information Institute">Legal Information Institute</a>. 14 April 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">24 July</span> 2009</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Wex&rft.atitle=Marriage+Laws+of+the+Fifty+States%2C+District+of+Columbia+and+Puerto+Rico&rft.date=2008-04-14&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.law.cornell.edu%2Fwex%2Ftable_marriage&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACommon-law+marriage" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGore2016" class="citation news cs1">Gore, Leada (28 December 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/12/common_law_marriage_in_alabama_1.html">"Common law marriage in Alabama ending Jan. 1, 2017"</a>. Alabama Media Group<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 September</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Common+law+marriage+in+Alabama+ending+Jan.+1%2C+2017&rft.date=2016-12-28&rft.aulast=Gore&rft.aufirst=Leada&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.al.com%2Fnews%2Findex.ssf%2F2016%2F12%2Fcommon_law_marriage_in_alabama_1.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACommon-law+marriage" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSpector2021" class="citation book cs1">Spector, Robert G. (2021). <i>Oklahoma Family Law--The Handbook</i>. Dallas, TX: Imprimatur Press. p. 5. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781605031460" title="Special:BookSources/9781605031460"><bdi>9781605031460</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Oklahoma+Family+Law--The+Handbook&rft.place=Dallas%2C+TX&rft.pages=5&rft.pub=Imprimatur+Press&rft.date=2021&rft.isbn=9781605031460&rft.aulast=Spector&rft.aufirst=Robert+G.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACommon-law+marriage" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFStrasser2016" class="citation journal cs1">Strasser, Mark (2016). "Interracial Marriage Litigation Foreshadows What the Obergefell Court Chose to Address". <i>The Capital University Law Review</i>. <b>47</b>: 47.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Capital+University+Law+Review&rft.atitle=Interracial+Marriage+Litigation+Foreshadows+What+the+Obergefell+Court+Chose+to+Address&rft.volume=47&rft.pages=47&rft.date=2016&rft.aulast=Strasser&rft.aufirst=Mark&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACommon-law+marriage" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-54">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">See, e.g., <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/vs/field/docs/vs1801-(3)-fillable.pdf">"Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Texas Health and Human Services</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 September</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Texas+Health+and+Human+Services&rft.atitle=Declaration+and+Registration+of+Informal+Marriage&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dshs.texas.gov%2Fvs%2Ffield%2Fdocs%2Fvs1801-%283%29-fillable.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACommon-law+marriage" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Hyman Rodman, "Illegitimacy in the Caribbean Social Structure: A Reconsideration", <i>American Sociological Review</i> 31 (1966): 673–683.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Benjamin Schlesinger, "Family Patterns in the English-Speaking Caribbean", <i>Journal of Marriage and Family</i> 30 (1968): 49–54.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Common-law_marriage&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Barlow, A., Duncan, S., James, G., and Park, A., (2005) <i>Cohabitation, Marriage and the Law: Social Change and Legal Reform in the 21st Century</i> (Oxford: Hart)</li> <li>Probert, R. (2012) <i>The Legal Regulation of Cohabitation, 1600–2012: From Fornicators to Family</i> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).</li> <li>Ahmady, Kameel Et al 2021: <a href="/wiki/House_with_Open_Door_(book)" title="House with Open Door (book)">House with Open Door</a> A study on cohabitation in Iran. Mehri Publication, London, UK.</li></ul> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output 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href="/wiki/Reparation_(legal)" title="Reparation (legal)">Reparations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_law" title="Space law">Space law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sports_law_in_the_United_States" title="Sports law in the United States">Sports law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_of_emergency" title="State of emergency">State of emergency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tax_law" title="Tax law">Tax law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_law" title="Transport law">Transport law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trust_(law)" title="Trust (law)">Trust law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Unenforced_law" title="Unenforced law">Unenforced law</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sources_of_law" title="Sources of law">Sources of law</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Charter" title="Charter">Charter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Code_of_law" title="Code of law">Legal code</a> / <a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">Statutory law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">Constitution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Customary_law" title="Customary law">Custom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Divine_law" title="Divine law">Divine law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Divine_right_of_kings" title="Divine right of kings">Divine right</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights" title="Human rights">Human rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legitimacy_(political)" class="mw-redirect" title="Legitimacy (political)">Legitimacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Letters_patent" title="Letters patent">Letters patent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Man-made_law" title="Man-made law">Man-made law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Natural_law" title="Natural law">Natural law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Natural_rights_and_legal_rights" title="Natural rights and legal rights">Natural and legal rights</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Case_law" title="Case law">Case law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Precedent" title="Precedent">Precedent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_report" title="Law report">Law reports</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_treatise" title="Legal treatise">Legal treatise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regulation" title="Regulation">Regulations</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Lawmaking" title="Lawmaking">Law making</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">Ballot measure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Codification_(law)" title="Codification (law)">Codification</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Decree" title="Decree">Decree</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Edict" title="Edict">Edict</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Executive_order_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Executive order (disambiguation)">Executive order</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proclamation" title="Proclamation">Proclamation</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legislation" title="Legislation">Legislation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Primary_and_secondary_legislation" title="Primary and secondary legislation">Delegated legislation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regulation" title="Regulation">Regulation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rulemaking" title="Rulemaking">Rulemaking</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Promulgation" title="Promulgation">Promulgation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ratification" title="Ratification">Ratification</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Repeal" title="Repeal">Repeal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty" title="Treaty">Treaty</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Concordat" title="Concordat">Concordat</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">Statutory law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">Statute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_parliament" title="Act of parliament">Act of parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_Congress" title="Act of Congress">Act of Congress</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basic_structure_doctrine" title="Basic structure doctrine">Basic structure doctrine</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_national_legal_systems" title="List of national legal systems">Legal systems</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)" title="Civil law (legal system)">Civil law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">Common law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_law" title="Chinese law">Chinese law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_pluralism" title="Legal pluralism">Legal pluralism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religious_law" title="Religious law">Religious law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Canon_law" title="Canon law">Canon law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Canon_law_of_the_Catholic_Church" title="Canon law of the Catholic Church">Catholic canon law</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindu_law" title="Hindu law">Hindu law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jain_law" title="Jain law">Jain law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halakha" title="Halakha">Jewish law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parsi_law" title="Parsi law">Parsi law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sharia" title="Sharia">Sharia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roman_law" title="Roman law">Roman law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Byzantine_law" title="Byzantine law">Byzantine law</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socialist_law" title="Socialist law">Socialist law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">Statutory law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xeer" title="Xeer">Xeer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yassa" title="Yassa">Yassa</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%">Legal theory</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anarchist_law" title="Anarchist law">Anarchist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Contract_theory" title="Contract theory">Contract theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparative_law" title="Comparative law">Comparative law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Expressive_function_of_law" title="Expressive function of law">Expressive function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_legal_theory" title="Feminist legal theory">Feminist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_and_economics" title="Law and economics">Law and economics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_formalism" title="Legal formalism">Legal formalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_history" title="Legal history">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Libertarian_theories_of_law" title="Libertarian theories of law">Libertarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_legal_theories" title="International legal theories">International legal theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legality" title="Legality">Principle of legality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principle_of_typicality" title="Principle of typicality">Principle of typicality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudolaw" title="Pseudolaw">Pseudolaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rule_of_law" title="Rule of law">Rule of law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rule_of_man" title="Rule of man">Rule of man</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sociology_of_law" title="Sociology of law">Sociology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Jurisprudence" title="Jurisprudence">Jurisprudence</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Adjudication" title="Adjudication">Adjudication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Administration_of_justice" title="Administration of justice">Administration of justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitutionalism" title="Constitutionalism">Constitutionalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Criminal_justice" title="Criminal justice">Criminal justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Court-martial" title="Court-martial">Court-martial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dispute_resolution" title="Dispute resolution">Dispute resolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fiqh" title="Fiqh">Fiqh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lawsuit" title="Lawsuit">Lawsuit/Litigation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_opinion" title="Legal opinion">Legal opinion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_remedy" title="Legal remedy">Legal remedy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judge" title="Judge">Judge</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Justice_of_the_peace" title="Justice of the peace">Justice of the peace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Magistrate" title="Magistrate">Magistrate</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judgment_(law)" title="Judgment (law)">Judgment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_interpretation" title="Judicial interpretation">Judicial interpretation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_review" title="Judicial review">Judicial review</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jurisdiction" title="Jurisdiction">Jurisdiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jury" title="Jury">Jury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Justice" title="Justice">Justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Practice_of_law" title="Practice of law">Practice of law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Attorney_at_law" title="Attorney at law">Attorney</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barrister" title="Barrister">Barrister</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Counsel" title="Counsel">Counsel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lawyer" title="Lawyer">Lawyer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Defense_(legal)" title="Defense 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chambers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bureaucracy" title="Bureaucracy">Bureaucracy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bar_(law)" title="Bar (law)">The bar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bench_(law)" title="Bench (law)">The bench</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Civil_society" title="Civil society">Civil society</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Court" title="Court">Court</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Court_of_equity" title="Court of equity">Court of equity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Election_commission" title="Election commission">Election commission</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Executive_(government)" title="Executive (government)">Executive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judiciary" title="Judiciary">Judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement" title="Law enforcement">Law enforcement</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement_agency" title="Law enforcement agency">Agency</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_education" title="Legal education">Legal education</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Law_school" title="Law school">Law school</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">Legislature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military" title="Military">Military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Police" title="Police">Police</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_party" title="Political party">Political party</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tribunal" title="Tribunal">Tribunal</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%">History</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_legal_profession" title="History of the legal profession">History of the legal profession</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_American_legal_profession" title="History of the American legal profession">History of the American legal profession</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Women_in_law" title="Women in law">Women in law</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow hlist" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><div> <ul><li><b><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Balance,_by_David.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Balance%2C_by_David.svg/21px-Balance%2C_by_David.svg.png" decoding="async" width="21" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Balance%2C_by_David.svg/32px-Balance%2C_by_David.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Balance%2C_by_David.svg/41px-Balance%2C_by_David.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="606" data-file-height="558" /></a></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Law" title="Portal:Law">Law portal</a></b></li> <li><b><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" 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class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Types_of_marriages351" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Types_of_marriages" title="Template:Types of marriages"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Types_of_marriages" title="Template talk:Types of marriages"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Types_of_marriages" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Types of marriages"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Types_of_marriages351" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Types_of_marriages" title="Types of marriages">Types of marriages</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Legal scenarios</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Civil_marriage" title="Civil marriage">Civil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Covenant_marriage" title="Covenant marriage">Covenant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Customary_law" title="Customary law">Customary</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nikah_%27urfi" title="Nikah 'urfi">Nikah 'urfi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pla%C3%A7age" title="Plaçage">Plaçage</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fleet_Marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Fleet Marriage">Fleet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monogamy" title="Monogamy">Monogamy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Serial_monogamy" class="mw-redirect" title="Serial monogamy">Serial monogamy</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marriage" title="Marriage">Marriage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Remarriage" title="Remarriage">Remarriage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Same-sex_marriage" title="Same-sex marriage">Same-sex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Temporary_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Temporary marriage">Temporary</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Hollywood_marriage" title="Hollywood marriage">Hollywood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nikah_mut%27ah" title="Nikah mut'ah">Nikah mut'ah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wedlease" title="Wedlease">Wedlease</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Voidable_marriage" title="Voidable marriage">Voidable</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Putative_marriage" title="Putative marriage">Putative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Void_marriage" title="Void marriage">Void</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Religious</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Jewish_views_on_marriage" title="Jewish views on marriage">Jewish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christian_views_on_marriage" title="Christian views on marriage">Christian</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_the_Catholic_Church" title="Marriage in the Catholic Church">Catholic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Josephite_marriage" title="Josephite marriage">Josephite</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_the_Eastern_Orthodox_Church" title="Marriage in the Eastern Orthodox Church">Eastern Orthodox</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Celestial_marriage" title="Celestial marriage">Mormon</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sealing_(Mormonism)" title="Sealing (Mormonism)">Sealing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mormonism_and_polygamy" title="Mormonism and polygamy">Polygamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mixed-orientation_marriage_and_the_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints" title="Mixed-orientation marriage and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints">Mixed-orientation</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quaker_wedding" title="Quaker wedding">Quaker</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clerical_marriage" title="Clerical marriage">Clerical marriage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Islamic_marital_jurisprudence" title="Islamic marital jurisprudence">Islamic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_Islam" title="Marriage in Islam">Marriage in Islam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Misyar_marriage" title="Misyar marriage">Misyar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nikah_mut%27ah" title="Nikah mut'ah">Nikah mut'ah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nikah_%27urfi" title="Nikah 'urfi">Nikah 'urfi</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Levirate_marriage" title="Levirate marriage">Levirate</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Yibbum" title="Yibbum">Yibbum</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Natural_marriage" title="Natural marriage">Natural</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scientology_and_marriage" title="Scientology and marriage">Scientology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Self-uniting_marriage" title="Self-uniting marriage">Self-uniting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Widow_conservation" title="Widow conservation">Widow conservation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindu_wedding" title="Hindu wedding">Hindu</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_Hinduism" title="Marriage in Hinduism">Vivaaha</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Brahma_marriage" title="Brahma marriage">Brahma</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Daiva_marriage" title="Daiva marriage">Daiva</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Arshaa_marriage&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Arshaa marriage (page does not exist)">Arsha</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Prajapatya_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Prajapatya marriage">Prajapatya</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gandharva_marriage" title="Gandharva marriage">Gandharva</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Asura_marriage" title="Asura marriage">Asura</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rakshasa_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Rakshasa marriage">Rakshasa</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Paishacha_marriage" title="Paishacha marriage">Paishacha</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ayyavazhi_wedding" title="Ayyavazhi wedding">Ayyavazhi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vedic_wedding_ceremony" class="mw-redirect" title="Vedic wedding ceremony">Vedic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yogic_marriage" title="Yogic marriage">Yogic</a></li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Manus_marriage" title="Manus marriage">Manus</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Age</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Marriageable_age" title="Marriageable age">Marriageable age</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Child_marriage" title="Child marriage">Child</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Teen_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Teen marriage">Teen</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Arranged_marriage" title="Arranged marriage">Arranged</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sister_exchange" title="Sister exchange">Sister exchange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flash_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Flash marriage">Flash</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Forced_marriage" title="Forced marriage">Forced</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bride_kidnapping" title="Bride kidnapping">Abduction</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Raptio" title="Raptio">Raptio</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heqin" title="Heqin">Heqin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Miai" title="Miai">Miai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shotgun_wedding" title="Shotgun wedding">Shotgun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tongyangxi" title="Tongyangxi">Tongyangxi</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Ceremonial</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Betrothal" class="mw-redirect" title="Betrothal">Betrothal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Handfasting" title="Handfasting">Handfasting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mystery_of_Crowning" title="Mystery of Crowning">Mystery of Crowning</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wedding" title="Wedding">Wedding</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Las_Vegas_weddings" title="Las Vegas weddings">Las Vegas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proxy_marriage" title="Proxy marriage">Proxy</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Circumstantial<br />basis</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Death</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Posthumous_marriage" title="Posthumous marriage">Posthumous</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Posthumous_marriage_in_France" title="Posthumous marriage in France">France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Posthumous_marriage_in_Germany" title="Posthumous marriage in Germany">Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_ghost_marriage" title="Chinese ghost marriage">Chinese ghost marriage</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Widow_inheritance" title="Widow inheritance">Widow inheritance</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ghost_marriage_in_South_Sudan" title="Ghost marriage in South Sudan">Ghost marriage in South Sudan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Levirate_marriage" title="Levirate marriage">Levirate</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Yibbum" title="Yibbum">Yibbum</a></i></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Financial</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Boston_marriage" title="Boston marriage">Boston</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flash_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Flash marriage">Flash</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hypergamy" title="Hypergamy">Hypergamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naked_marriage_in_China" title="Naked marriage in China">Naked</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shared_earning/shared_parenting_marriage" title="Shared earning/shared parenting marriage">Peer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tongyangxi" title="Tongyangxi">Tongyangxi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trial_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Trial marriage">Trial</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Marriage_of_convenience" title="Marriage of convenience">Convenience</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lavender_marriage" title="Lavender marriage">Lavender</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sham_marriage" title="Sham marriage">Sham</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Green_card_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Green card marriage">Green card</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basic_Allowance_for_Housing" title="Basic Allowance for Housing">Marriage allowance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Predatory_marriage" title="Predatory marriage">Predatory</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Exchange_of_women" title="Exchange of women">Exchange</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Watta_satta" title="Watta satta">Watta satta</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heqin" title="Heqin">Heqin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Love_marriage" title="Love marriage">Love</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sologamy" title="Sologamy">Sologamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mixed-orientation_marriage" title="Mixed-orientation marriage">Mixed-orientation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sororate_marriage" title="Sororate marriage">Sororate</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/De_facto_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="De facto marriage">De facto</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Common-law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pla%C3%A7age" title="Plaçage">Plaçage</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Endogamy" title="Endogamy">Endogamy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Consanguine_marriage" title="Consanguine marriage">Consanguine</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Avunculate_marriage" title="Avunculate marriage">Avunculate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cousin_marriage" title="Cousin marriage">Cousin</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cousin_marriage_in_the_Middle_East" title="Cousin marriage in the Middle East">Middle Eastern</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Same-surname_marriage" title="Same-surname marriage">Same-surname</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homogamy_(sociology)" title="Homogamy (sociology)">Homogamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Royal_intermarriage" title="Royal intermarriage">Royal intermarriage</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Exogamy" title="Exogamy">Exogamy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Human%E2%80%93animal_marriage" title="Human–animal marriage">Human–animal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hypergamy" title="Hypergamy">Hypergamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inter-caste_marriage" title="Inter-caste marriage">Inter-caste</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interethnic_marriage" title="Interethnic marriage">Interethnic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transnational_marriage" title="Transnational marriage">International</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interracial_marriage" title="Interracial marriage">Interracial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interfaith_marriage" title="Interfaith marriage">Interfaith</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morganatic_marriage" title="Morganatic marriage">Morganatic</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Non-<a href="/wiki/Monogamy" title="Monogamy">monogamous</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Concubinage" title="Concubinage">Concubinage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Group_marriage" title="Group marriage">Group</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Group_marriage" title="Group marriage">Line</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open_marriage" title="Open marriage">Open</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plural_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Plural marriage">Plural</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bigamy" title="Bigamy">Bigamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polygamy" title="Polygamy">Polygamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polyandry" title="Polyandry">Polyandry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polygyny" title="Polygyny">Polygyny</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sexless_marriage" title="Sexless marriage">Sexless</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Mariage_blanc" title="Mariage blanc">Mariage blanc</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dishu_system" title="Dishu system">Dishu system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mail-order_bride" title="Mail-order bride">Mail-order bride</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marriage_in_pre-Islamic_Arabia" title="Marriage in pre-Islamic Arabia">Marriage in pre-Islamic Arabia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Walking_marriage" class="mw-redirect" title="Walking marriage">Walking</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" 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