Marriage and Divorce
Texas recognizes formal and informal marriages - informal marriages are most often referred to as "common law" marriages. Both types of marriage have minimum age requirements and other legal restrictions. Please call with any questions you may have regarding your rights as a husband or wife.
A formal marriage occurs after the parties have applied for a marriage license, participated in a ceremony performed by a minister or rabbi or other authorized officer, and recorded their license with the appropriate county clerk.
In the context of a divorce proceeding, the validity of a formal marriage is generally not at issue. However, in some divorce cases and in other matters, such as a law suit for wrongful death, it may be necessary to prove the validity of his or her informal marriage. Common law spouses have the same rights and obligations to each other as with any other spouse.
An informal - common law - marriage may be proved in Texas in one of two ways. The husband and wife may sign and record a declaration of their marriage on a form available with their local county clerk. If the parties have not signed a declaration, then the husband or wife may prove their common law marriage with evidence demonstrating that both parties agreed to be married, they lived together in Texas as husband and wife after agreeing to be married, and they represented to others that they were married.
General information regarding registration of marriages and divorces is available via the Vital Statistics Unit of Texas Department of State Health Services, at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/vs/marriagedivorce/mdfaq.shtm
If you need to speak to a Houston Divorce lawyer, contact the firm of former Harris County Attorney Michael P. Fleming.
In addition to being well-known as the former Harris County Attorney, Michael P. Fleming has been recognized as a Texas Superlawyer. His Houston law firm is AV rated by Martindale - Hubbell and has been featured in H-Texas Magazine's Top Attorneys in Houston issue. He is also one of the small percentage of attorneys in the entire country to have had the privilege of arguing and winning a case before the Supreme Court of the United States.
