Common Law Marriage: A Legal Institution for Cohabitation

CONTENTS......Page 10
PREFACE......Page 8
1.1 Background......Page 26
1.2 The Object of This Examination......Page 27
1.2.1 Jurisdictions Recognizing Common Law Marriage......Page 31
1.2.2 The Need for a More In-Depth Legal Discourse......Page 35
1.3 Objective, Method, Materials, and Outline......Page 37
The Objective and the Outline......Page 39
The Objective and the Outline......Page 40
The Material......Page 45
The Objective and the Outline......Page 47
The Material......Page 50
PART I: THE ORIGINS......Page 52
2.1 Introduction......Page 54
2.2 The Roman Understanding of Marriage......Page 55
2.3 The Manus Marriage......Page 60
2.4 The Free Roman Marriage......Page 72
2.5 The Roman Concubinage......Page 93
2.6 Summary and Conclusions......Page 104
3.1 Introduction......Page 112
3.2 The Canon Law Understanding of Marriage......Page 114
3.3 The Informal Marriages......Page 117
3.4 The Canon Law's Concubinage......Page 137
3.5 The Implementation of the Council of Trent......Page 140
3.6 Summary and Conclusions......Page 145
4.1 Introduction......Page 154
4.2 The Historical Background......Page 155
4.3 The Reasons for the American Reception......Page 173
4.4 The Initial Criticism against Common Law Marriage......Page 195
4.5 Summary and Conclusions......Page 202
PART II: THE CURRENT LAW......Page 208
5.1 Introduction......Page 210
5.2 The Required Marital Age......Page 214
5.3 Preexisting Marriages......Page 230
5.4 Summary and Conclusions......Page 273
6.1 Introduction......Page 282
6.2 The Nature of the Marriage Contract......Page 285
6.3 The Marital Intent's Essensialia......Page 303
6.4 Consensus de Praesenti and Consensus de Futuro......Page 326
6.5 Express Contracts......Page 342
6.6 Summary and Conclusions......Page 380
7.1 Introduction......Page 388
7.2 The Reasons for Implied Agreements......Page 390
7.3 The Development of the Law......Page 393
7.4 The Current State of the Law in the Different States......Page 410
7.5 Evidentiary Facts as Support for Implied Agreements......Page 427
7.6 Cases in Which Implied Agreements Have Been Proven......Page 437
7.7 Cases in Which an Implied Agreement Has Not Been Found Proven......Page 461
7.8 Summary and Conclusions......Page 482
8.1 Introduction......Page 492
8.2 The Pure Contract Principle......Page 493
8.3 The Development of Cohabitation as a Requisite......Page 510
8.4 The Current State of the Law in Different States......Page 531
8.5 The Requirement of Cohabitation......Page 544
8.6 The Requirements of Holding Out and Reputation......Page 574
8.7 Summary and Conclusions......Page 597
9.1 Introduction......Page 608
9.2 Burdens and Standards of Proof......Page 609
9.3 The Marriage Presumption......Page 619
9.4 Cohabitation and Reputation......Page 625
9.5 The Legal Effects of the Marriage Presumption......Page 635
9.6 The Marriage Presumption—Not Applicable......Page 644
9.7 Summary and Conclusions......Page 660
10.1 Introduction......Page 664
10.2 The Choice of Applicable Law......Page 667
10.3 The Marriage Contract......Page 687
10.4 The Requirement of Cohabitation and Reputation as Spouses......Page 731
10.5 Summary and Conclusions......Page 745
10.6 Register: Lex Loci Contractus in Common Law Marriage Cases from the Different American States......Page 755
11.1 Introduction......Page 762
11.2 The Legal Nature of the Institution......Page 765
11.3 Cohabitation with Habit and Repute......Page 779
11.4 The Legal Effects of the Presumption......Page 786
11.5 Exceptions to the Marriage Presumption......Page 795
11.6 Summary and Conclusions......Page 796
PART III: THE FUTURE......Page 802
12.1 Introduction......Page 804
12.2 Statistical and Demographic Data......Page 806
12.3 Property Law Solutions in the Case Law......Page 821
12.4 Family Law Regimes for Cohabiting Persons......Page 851
12.5 Summary and Conclusions......Page 884
13.1 Introduction......Page 894
13.2 The Parties' Consensus as a Necessary Element......Page 895
13.3 Cohabitation as a Necessary Requisite......Page 928
13.4 The Use of Burdens of Proof and Evidentiary Presumptions......Page 958
13.5 Summary and Conclusions......Page 967
14.1 Introduction......Page 978
14.2 Arguments for Common Law Marriage and Cohabitation Law......Page 979
14.3 Arguments Against Common Law Marriage and Cohabitation Law......Page 1020
14.4 Summary and Conclusions......Page 1082
15.1 Introduction......Page 1096
15.2 New Forms for the Commencement of Marriage......Page 1097
15.3 Dispensing with Common Law Marriage and Cohabitation Legislation......Page 1108
15.4 Summary and Conclusions......Page 1111
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 1116
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 1124
TABLE OF CASES......Page 1152
A......Page 1222
B......Page 1223
C......Page 1224
D......Page 1228
E......Page 1229
G......Page 1230
I......Page 1231
K......Page 1233
M......Page 1234
N......Page 1236
O......Page 1237
P......Page 1238
S......Page 1240
T......Page 1242
V......Page 1243
Y......Page 1244