What Are Common Law Marriages and Are They Recognized in Georgia?

A question that has come up recently…what is common law marriage and does Georgia recognize common law marriage? A common law marriage is one that has been established not by a certificate of marriage, but by holding your just out to be married. Georgia abolished common law marriage as of January 1st 1997. However, if you were common law married before January 1st 1997, you can still have a common law marriage here in the state of Georgia. Or if another state has established that you were common law married, you can have a divorce here in Georgia because Georgia will recognize this. It has come up recently when we have same sex marriages that may have been married after it was legalized in 2015, but had helped himself out for many years to be married prior. Can we capture those prior assets when we’re talking about a divorce case? Come see us at the Atlanta Divorce Law Group so that we can discuss your rights getting a divorce with a law marriage.