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Common Law Marriage

missboss1014 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 07:05:54 GMT

My s/o and I have been together since 2014 in MT and have 3 kids. Can we file as common law?

Re: Common Law Marriage

Anonymous_ — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 23:25:26 GMT

Yes, you could file as "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately" per Treas. Reg. §301.7701-18.

Re: Common Law Marriage

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:18:40 GMT

STATES THAT RECOGNIZE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE

CO, DC, CO, IA, KS, MT, OK, RI, SC,TX, UT

Re: Common Law Marriage

Critter-3 — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:22:12 GMT

Be aware that if you start filing a joint return and hold yourself out to be married then if you ever split up you will need to file for divorce. So think on this hard before doing it.

Re: Common Law Marriage

Anonymous_ — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 01:07:49 GMT

That is correct, except even if you do not file a joint return but hold yourself out to be married, you still need to go through divorce proceedings should you ever want to dissolve the marriage.