I have been reading on the subject, but I am somewhat confused. Is
common-law marriage recognized in Virginia. Here is the fictional
scenario. A man and a woman lives together for 7 years. Both are
self-sufficient economically. The residence is in the male's name. The
female  did not give up anything personally or professionally so the male could get
ahead professionally. The male is an owner of a company which he
started before he met the female. I am not enquiring about  any
worldly goods that are in both names if there is a break-up I suppose
rightly so that would be divided equally. That part is not
important....I am
enquiring about worldly goods that are in the male's name, including
businesses, residences, bank accounts which the male earned by
himself. Does the female have a legal right to a portion of these
worldly goods? Is there a time limitation on how long they have lived
together in Virginia that common-law marriage would come into effect
in this situation? I am not being sarcastic, but I don't want an
answer that says " I think" Thank you.........Also please point in the
the direction that I can check the answer.....

Dear fredg2004-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. As you
know by our disclaimer we cannot offer legal advice in this forum.
What I am doing is sharing with you information that I have found in
the cource of my research that has been published on the matter in
situations similar to yours. It goes without saying that it is always
best to consult an attorney about any legal matter and I recommend you
do that.

With that out of the way let me start by saying that the state of
Virginia has no legal provision for the recognition of common law
marriages. If, however, a couple enjoy a common law marriage in
another state that DOES recognize that type of union and they
subsequently move to Virginia, Virginia will recognize that legal
union also.

VIRGINIA STATE BAR
http://www.vsb.org/publications/brochure/married.html

?Only Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, as well as
the District of Columbia, recognize common law marriages. New
Hampshire recognizes common law marriages only for the purposes of
inheritance. In any other state the only marriage that is recognized
as valid is an official one. However, if you enter into common law
marriage while living in one of the states that permits them, and then
move to a state that doesn't, the new state should recognize your
marriage as being legally entered into in the other state.?
ALLLAW.COM
http://www.alllaw.com/articles/family/divorce/article61.asp

An unlicensed and unsolemnized marital union in the state of Virginia
is not deemed valid. Virginia Code Title 20, Chapter 2 § 20-13,
?License and solemnization required? clearly says:

?Every marriage in this Commonwealth shall be under a license and
solemnized in the manner herein provided.?
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+20-13

The entirety of Virginia?s Domestic Relations statutes are included in Tile 20
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+TOC2000000

In Virginia cohabitating couples living together out of legal wedlock
are the sole owners all of their own job-related income and assets
that they have acquired individually. Assets acquired collectively of
course are subject to claims of co-ownership, as are assets in any
collective, according to the measure of one?s individual contribution
toward the acquisition of those assets. However, absent a written
agreement stating whether income will be shared or kept separate, it
can be asserted in a court of law that there was an existing oral
agreement that all income and assets were understood to be, or agreed
upon to be ?50-50? property. Although this can be tough to prove in
court, the very fact that a lawsuit can be brought creates the
possibility of a potentially viable claim. This type of claim would
not fall under statutes that govern domestic relations, marriage,
equitable distribution or even ?common law marriage? (which, as I
stated, doesn?t exists in Virginia), rather it would be a civil matter
and perhaps one that would be best addressed by an attorney
knowledgeable in the finer aspects of Virginia contract law. I?m sure
you will find this article on the subject particularly interesting:

MY LAWYER.COM - VIRGINIA DIVORCE LAW
Property Rights of Unmarried Couples in Virginia
http://www.vadivorceonline.com/vapages/MaritalProperty/unmarried%20prop%20rights.asp

In short, in the state of Virginia a cohabitating partner does not
automaticially inherit or acquire an ownership claim to a portion of
his or her partner's goods merely by virtue of the relationship, but
there is indeed a potential here for a civil co-ownership claim based
on any oral or written agreement that might exist between them.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Marriage Laws of the Fifty States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table_Marriage.htm



SEARCH STRATEGY


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SEARCH TERMS USED:

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tutuzdad... thank you. i visited some of those web sites that you have
furnished before i asked the question. nevertheless, you answered my
question and i  understand it. it could be a problem for one of the
people in this situation monetarily even though he or she can prove
that  the worldly goods were not bought by both parties. i am giving
you a bonus of 3.00....

Having been a legal researcher for a Father's Rights group in Iowa,
thought I'd add some information on that state for readers, since
questioner clearly received a correct answer.

In Iowa, if not changed since I retired and moved, one forms a common
law marriage by any action which involves holding out as married
couple. This includes signing a hotel register as Mr. and Mrs.  Or,
telling someone that tis person is your spouse. Or, not denying it
when someone refers to you as married.

There seems to be no significant legal result in Iowa of a common law
marriage except extracting assets during a break-up, unless a specific
company or government agency has a domestic partner benefits program. 
It is possible to sue for assets without a breakup but this is
extremely unlikely as you can imagine.

If there is no marriage of any kind, it is difficult to obtain
alimony, or property settlement of individually owned property, of
course.  Naturally, if a person helped make house payments for a house
whose title is individually owned, there could be a good case for
division based on contribution.

And, child support laws are almost totally independent of marital status.

There was a case of breakup issues in the 80's of a man who built a
barn, supplying all the materials, and most of the direct labor. His
girl friend, after a breakup, sued for half of the value of the barn,
though her labor contribution was mostly as "go-fer".  This was rather
ridiculous because materials often represent half the value of
construction, which meant he would receive nothing for his work, which
was most of the project.

I do not always agree with court rulings, but in this case, the judge
made an estimate of her hours contributed, and she received the local
wage rate for construction assistants for those estimated hours
worked.

I give this example to demonstrate efforts to be reimbursed after a
break-up.  MY view would be different if he bought a house, and each
month, she contribued part of the payments.

What I am writing is purely informational.  Only an attorney can give
advice applying to an individual case.