3 ms·
I did read the article from start to end. In the UK you can live as common law man and wife without a formal marriage. I used the term loosely. Regardless of se
by junto 12y ago
I did read the article from start to end. In the UK you can live as common law man and wife without a formal marriage. I used the term loosely. Regardless of semantics, the two lived together as partners and had a child together. My point was the partnership failed and that must have been hard. This whole process has had a profound effect on these people's lives. That was the point I was trying to make.
I typed the comment quickly. I apologise if I offended anyone for the use of the word marriage without considering that many places in the world strictly limit the use of the word marriage to the act of standing in a church with a priest and saying 'I do'.
- dllthomas 12y ago"In the UK you can live as common law man and wife without a formal marriage." Per Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage#United_Kingdom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage#United_King...), it seems that the term is common but it does not actually convey legal rights like common law marriage in the US. Of course, since we were discussing use of terms, that fact is of only tangential interest.
- antimagic 12y agoSimilar laws to those in the UK exist in Australia - a long-term couple that separates can, in the case of dispute when splitting common goods, be treated in a manner very similar to a divorce. Furthermore, I know that long-term relationships also bestow other rights on a couple, such as immigration rights (my brother's wife got her first long-term residency permit in Australia thanks to this, as she migrated before they were married).
- DanBC 12y agoEnglish law grants very few rights to people in a common law marriage. It's really important to correct the myth that common law marriage means anything because it really doesn't in England.
- dllthomas 12y agoRight. All of this is very jurisdiction specific (spatially and temporally). My understanding: Living together like a married couple long enough conveys actual marriage in some places in the US, various rights some other places in the US, not very much in England and Wales, and up to recently more in Scotland but that changed in 2006 and now Scotland is much like the rest of the UK.
- aestra 12y ago>My understanding: Living together like a married couple long enough conveys actual marriage in some places in the US, various rights some other places in the US Intent and agreement is a big one, not length of cohabitation. The two both must consent and intend on being married and basically tell everyone they are married. Just cohabitation for a long time isn't enough. Nobody can suddenly "find" themselves in a common law marriage they didn't intend or want to enter into, they both must intentionally agree to enter into one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage_in_the_United_States#Legislation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage_in_the_Unit...
- dllthomas 12y agoRight, the "like a married couple" is stronger than that could've been read. An important point. Details still vary by jurisdiction.