I was trying to say fighting it doesn't always help, just drives the cost & loss up even more. I can understand part of the Minnesota legal view, try to keep the weaker spouse out of the welfare system, but often they just end up with two people in it instead. Bankruptcy after divorce ain't that unusual. Divorce usually isn't about winning, it's about how bad are you going to lose, and that's on both sides.

I ain't ever gonna consider marriage again. Unless you're planning to raise some kids, don't even see any use for it any more. When you aren't married, but staying together, gotta be nicer and more committed to each other, otherwise one of em can just walk away. Actually, being married makes it easier for splitting up sometimes; one of the couple can have a financial incentive, walking away with half of what the other will make for the rest of their life. That divorce sure didn't cost my ex anything.

Wud be nice if Minnysota had that; a year or two after, ex got a guy friend, now they live together, but she ain't gonna get married, that wud stop the support checks. Couple years ago my daughter tol me her mom oughta thank me for the European vacation - that's just how she put it, too. Wish I cud afford one of those... Could be worse, without the guy friend, I'd have probably got a notice I had to pay more.

 

All depends on the state my friend....The laws differ from state to state.....and if your live in decides ta get ya in court....before a jury....Good luck with that, no matter what state you are in.

 

Very good Moldee.

 

I could really get use to this do nothing ****......

 

I donno doc. I'm no lawyer. But...

THE MYTH: There is a common misperception that if you live together for a certain length of time (seven years is what many people believe), you are common-law married. This is not true anywhere in the United States.
STATES THAT RECOGNIZE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE:
Only a few states recognize common law marriages:
Alabama
Colorado
Georgia (if created before 1/1/97)
Idaho (if created before 1/1/96)
Iowa
Kansas
Montana
New Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only)
Ohio (if created before 10/10/91)
Oklahoma (possibly only if created before 11/1/98. Oklahoma's laws and court decisions may be in conflict about whether common law marriages formed in that state after 11/1/98 will be recognized.)
Pennsylvania (if created before 1/1/05)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
Washington, D.C.

 

IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE THAT DOES RECOGNIZE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE: If you live in one of the above states and you "hold yourself out to be married" (by telling the community you are married, calling each other husband and wife, using the same last name, filing joint income tax returns, etc.), you can have a common law marriage (for more information on the specific requirements of each state, see next page). Common law marriage makes you a legally married couple in every way, even though you never obtained a marriage license. If you choose to end your relationship, you must get a divorce, even though you never had a wedding. Legally, common law married couples must play by all the same rules as "regular" married couples. If you live in one of the common law states and don't want your relationship to become a common law marriage, you must be clear that it is your intention not to marry. The attorneys who wrote Living Together (additional information below) recommend an agreement in writing that both partners sign and date: "Jane Smith and John Doe agree as follows: That they've been and plan to continue living together as two free, independent beings and that neither has ever intended to enter into any form of marriage, common law or otherwise."

IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE THAT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE, there is no way to form a common law marriage, no matter how long you live with your partner. There is one catch: if you spend time in a state that does recognize common law marriage, "hold yourself out as married," and then return or move to a state that doesn't recognize it, you are still married (since states all recognize marriages that occurred in other states). However, this is murky legal territory and we don't recommend experimenting with it!