Same-Sex Relationships and Common Law Marriage

Sep 03

Same-Sex Relationships and Common Law Marriage

All marriages are recognized as legally equal, which also means matters of property division, spousal support, child support, divorce, and the like are treated just as they would in any other marriage. There are, however, several unique characteristics that may complicate family law matters for same-sex couples.

Table of Contents

Children in Same-Sex Relationships

Common Law Marriage

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Children in Same-Sex Relationships

Children’s issues in a divorce are overwhelming for any couple. Same-sex custody litigation may be complicated if a couple cannot agree on visitation, conservatorship, support, or custody. In these instances, each spouse will need to demonstrate that they are a legal parent to the child so that a court can make that determination (since the spouses can’t agree). In Texas, parentage can be established by the child being born or legally adopted during the same-sex couple’s marriage. In some cases, the child does not share DNA with either parent, and in other cases, children only share DNA with one parent (as many couples use a surrogate or a sperm donation). Therefore, same-sex couples often adopt their spouse’s child (called a ‘second-parent adoption’), or they both adopt the child. Courts are still not in agreement on how to treat assisted reproductive technology (sperm donation, egg donation, and surrogacy) for all couples.

Common Law Marriage

According to the Texas Family Code, if someone wishes to prove a common law marriage, either “a declaration of their marriage has been signed” or the couple “agreed to be married and after the agreement they lived together in this state as [spouses] and there represented to others that they were married.” Common law marriage is usually difficult to prove since there is no marriage license or other documentation. Thus, it becomes quite challenging to pinpoint the actual “start-date” of the marriage. These difficulties exist for both same-sex and heterosexual couples. Therefore, common-law and informal marriages are now available to same-sex couples. Now, same-sex couples can divorce and may be eligible for spousal support, child support, or other assets from their spouse.

Same-Sex Relationships and Common Law Marriage