Marriage and Common Law
Marriage in a legal sense is the action that encompasses the criteria for generally a male and female to legally form legal union within one household. Marriage ceremony must be performed by someone who is qualified by law to perform one, this includes: a judge, a justice of the peace, a minister, a priest, a rabbi, and other person with similar official position. The criteria a couple must meet in order to get married varies from state to state. The standard youngest age at which both components of a couple can get married without parental consent is 18 with the exception of Wyoming and Rhode Island whose laws require 16 years of age for girls. Another exception to the standard age at which marriage can occur without parental consent is Mississippi with 17 years of age for boys and 15 years of age for girls. Marriages that do not meet the age requirements cannot be annulled. All states require licensing and about of a third of states require blood tests to check for venereal disease before marriage. Other States have a minimum of a five day waiting period while the license is in processing.
Eleven States and the District of Columbia recognize common law marriages. Common law marriages are a less formal form of interpersonal status between a male and female that is recognized as a marriage even though no legal marriage ceremony or civil marriage had ever occurred. States that do not recognize common law marriages within their jurisdiction must recognize a common law marriage that originated in a state that recognizes common law marriage. Depending on the state, a couple must cohabitate together for a given period of time before common law marriage takes effect. Conversely, there is no such thing as a common law divorce. The procedure to have a divorce of a marriage that formed out of common law is the same as a traditional marriage.
Common Law Marriages are not domestic partnerships. The only state with same-sex common law marriage is Iowa. However, the standing of that law is yet to be tested. Although the legal basis of same-sex domestic partnerships is somewhat based on case law pertaining to common law marriage, the definition of “domestic partnership” and “common law” marriage are entirely different. The Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA, for short) establishes that states are not required to recognize same-sex domestic partnerships, common law marriages, and traditional marriages of other states. DOMA is a federal law that uses the supremacy clause of the Constitution to trump another Constitutional provision; the full faith and credit clause that requires states to accept the validity of licenses and permits, and legal statuses of a foreign state, or country in same-sex marriages.