Texas Common Law Marriage Divorces Lawyers

COMMON LAW MARRIAGE DIVORCES

The experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law serving Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington and Surrounding Counties can help prepare your case to either prove or disprove the existence of a Texas Common Law Marriage.

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Serving Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington & Surrounding Counties

Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers in The Woodlands | Conroe, TX & Bryan | College Station, Texas

Texas is a state that continues to recognize the validity of an informal marriage which most people refer to as a “Common Law Marriage.”  While most people understand that common law marriages exist in Texas, the elements required to enter into a Common Law Marriage are often misunderstood.  The important thing to understand about pursuing a common law divorce in Texas is that it must be specifically alleged in the divorce filings that a common law marriage exists.  Additionally, it is necessary to be prepared with significant facts and evidence to clearly prove to the court that the parties did in fact enter into a common law marriage, otherwise, the court may decline to find an informal marriage exists and therefore refuse to grant your divorce.  This can be very problematic if a party had hoped to achieve a portion of the other party’s retirement benefits, real property interests, or other assets, not to mention being able to receive Spousal Maintenance.   

At Nick Davis Law, our Divorce Lawyers in The Woodlands | Magnolia, Texas and Bryan | College Station are experienced in both establishing or defending against Common Law Marriages.  Our experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers will evaluate the circumstances surrounding your common law marriage, analyze the facts and witnesses available to prove or disprove the satisfaction of all the informal marriage requirements in Texas, and finally prepare a strategy to pursue or defend against the common law marriage divorce proceeding.  

The experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law serving Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington and Surrounding Counties can help pursue or defend against any Common Law Marriage Divorce in Texas.  

Nick Davis Law offers all prospective Common Law Marriage Divorce clients a Free Case Evaluation by phone or virtual conference as well as payment plans.  Contact our office at (936) 262-7474.

What are the Requirements of a Common Law Marriage in Texas?

Under the Texas Family Code, there are 3 elements that must be met to satisfy the Statutory Requirements for an Informal Marriage:

  1. Agreement to be Married;
  2. Live together in Texas as spouses;
  3. Represent to others in Texas that the parties are married.

The Only Way Out of A Common Law Marriage is Through a Formal Divorce

Because Common Law Marriages are easy to enter into, many individuals assume they can likewise easily just “leave” the marriage and avoid the formalities of a Texas Divorce if it doesn’t workout.  Unfortunately, this can’t be further from the truth.  There is only one way out of a Common Law Marriage and that is through a Divorce proceeding just as if you were Ceremonially Married in Texas.  
To Learn More about your ability to pursue or defend against a Common Law Marriage Divorce in Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington & Surrounding Counties contact our experienced Texas Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers in The Woodlands | Magnolia, TX and Bryan | College Station to develop a strategy to protect your parental rights.

Family Law

About Nick Davis Law

Nick Davis Law is a firm dedicated to helping individuals with all their family law needs and serves Montgomery, Harris, Waller, Grimes, Walker, Brazos, Washington, Burleson, Fort Bend and surrounding counties.

Services

We Can Help with Your Texas Common Law Marriage Divorce

 

Establishing The Existence of a Common Law Marriage

Before a Texas Family Law Court can grant a divorce and enter rulings on the Division of assets and liabilities and the payment or nonpayment of spousal maintenance, the court must first determine the existence of a Common Law Marriage.  Failure to properly establish the existence of a Common Law Marriage can destroy a potential spouse’s ability to receive a fair division of assets and support.  Our Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers in The Woodlands | Magnolia, TX & Bryan College Station can help prepare your case for success and fight to establish the existence of your common law marriage and pursue your claims on the community estate.

Disproving a Common Law Marriage

If you are contesting the existence of Common Law Marriage, it is crucial that you select the right Family Law Attorney to diligently prepare your case and aggressively contest the existence of a Common Law Marriage in order to avoid the impact of a Texas Divorce proceeding.  Failure to successfully defeat a party’s claim of a Common Law Marriage can result in the division of your assets and potentially the requirement to financially support your spouse for many years after the divorce is granted. The Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law in The Woodlands | Magnolia TX and Bryan College Station will fight to disprove the existence of a common law marriage to help preserve your assets and financial security.

Divorce & Child Custody Representation

Once a Common Law Marriage has been determined by the court to exist, our Experienced Texas Divorce Lawyers will fight to pursue a Just and Right Division of the Marital Estate as well as Child Custody and Child Support orders.  Our strategic Divorce, Child Custody and Child Support Lawyers at Nick Davis Law serving Montgomery and surrounding Texas Counties will fight to defend your rights and claims to your Community Estate, Separate Property and to your children.  Contact our offices in The Woodlands | Magnolia, TX and Bryan | College Station, Texas to learn how we can help you.

Reviews

What Clients Say

At all times, we put our client’s interests first.  The Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law in The Woodlands | Magnolia, TX and Bryan College Station are proud of their reputation and record for helping parties in Texas Divorce proceedings either pursue or defend against the existence of a Common Law Marriage.  We are ready to help you succeed..  Contact us for a free case evaluation to learn what we can do for your case.
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Highly recommend - Jerri Y

Mr. Davis was very helpful and responsive in my divorce case. He made it a simple process and I highly recommend him!

Highly recommend - Jerri Y

Mr. Davis was very helpful and responsive in my divorce case. He made it a simple process and I highly recommend him!

An Excellent Attorney - Michael

Nick assisted me with my long drawn out divorce. He is extremely knowledgeable and was responsive to any question or request I had during the process. I felt his fees are fair, and he gave me advice on how to keep the proceeding as painless as possible. My ex-wife’s attorney seemed happy to keep things as contentious as possible, and draw out things. I highly recommend Nick to anyone needing the help of a divorce attorney.

An Excellent Attorney - Michael

Nick assisted me with my long drawn out divorce. He is extremely knowledgeable and was responsive to any question or request I had during the process. I felt his fees are fair, and he gave me advice on how to keep the proceeding as painless as possible. My ex-wife’s attorney seemed happy to keep things as contentious as possible, and draw out things. I highly recommend Nick to anyone needing the help of a divorce attorney.

Honest, Trustworthy Attorney - Veronica

Nick is a very professional and knowledgeable attorney that I trust and highly recommend. He handled my divorce case in a very equitable manner. He also took the time to explain the legal processes and how best to guard my own assets. I’m very grateful for a job well done!

Honest, Trustworthy Attorney - Veronica

Nick is a very professional and knowledgeable attorney that I trust and highly recommend. He handled my divorce case in a very equitable manner. He also took the time to explain the legal processes and how best to guard my own assets. I’m very grateful for a job well done!

Super Lawyer, Best of the Best - Joe C

Mr. Davis has handled my divorce and other legal matters,and is now handling my out of state child custody, he is the best in Texas.

Super Lawyer, Best of the Best - Joe C

Mr. Davis has handled my divorce and other legal matters,and is now handling my out of state child custody, he is the best in Texas.

Client focused attorney

Nick Davis provided excellent advice during my family law case. I was particularly impressed with the way he would recommend alternative courses of action based on my former spouse’s responses.

FAQ

Grounds for Modifying Custody Orders

Agreement to Be MArried

In a Common Law Marriage Divorce, the court must find that the parties entered into an Agreement to be married.     To do this, it must be show that that the parties intended to have a present, immediate, and permanent marital relationship.  It’s not enough to allege that there was an agreement to get married at some time in the future.  The parties must clearly agree to be spouses presently.  Proving an agreement is very fact intensive and will take an experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyer to either argue the existence or nonexistence of the agreement.  The agreement doesn’t have to be in written and can be implied through circumstantial evidence such as living together, privately exchanging rings, simply referring to each other as “spouses” or other individuals referring to the couple as “married.”

 

 

 

Living Together

This element is perhaps the easiest to prove, however, it is more than just living together in the same household.  It requires that the couple engage in “cohabitation.”  This means, living together as spouses, maintaining a household, and doing things that spouses typically do.  There is not clear criteria for Cohabitation nor is there a minimum time frame.  As with every element of Common Law Marriages, establishing the couple lived together as spouses typically do is extremely fact intensive and may require the admission of a variety of forms of evidence to satisfy the court.

Holding each other out as a Spouse

Most Common Law Marriage Divorce disputes hinge on establishing that the couple held themselves out or represented to other that they were married.  A common law marriage cannot be a secret or disclosed to only close friends but not to the community at large.

To prove the couple “held themselves out” as being married an experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyer will look to evidence within the community to show the couple indicated they were spouses.  Additionaly, evidende such as Federal Tax Returns, Insurance Benefits, Wills & Trusts, Property Records, Church Records, Medical Records, Credit and Loan Applications, Banking Documents, and other similar evidence is extremely valuable in establishing the existence of a Common Law Marriage.  Likewise, the absence of these documents can be very damaging to the Common Law Marriage case especially basic things like Federal Tax Returns and Insurance Documents.

Contact our experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers if you are facing a Common Law Marriage Divorce in Montgomery, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Washington, Brazos, Harris and Surrounding Counties.

We Can Help

Payment Plans & Free Consult

Contact our office to schedule a Free Case Evaluation with experienced Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers in The Woodlands | Magnolia, Texas and Bryan College Station, TX.  We regularly offer after-hour & Weekend phone consults so our client’s do not have to travel or take off work to speak with their Family Lawyer.

Our Common Law Marriage Divorce Lawyers serving Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington & Surrounding Counties also understand that litigation can be expensive.  You shouldn’t have to compromise the quality of legal representation when it comes to your children.  We strive to make exceptional legal representation in family law matters available to all which is why we offer payment plans to help in these difficult times.  Contact us to learn more.

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Schedule A Consult

Nick Davis Law
2700 Research Forest Dr., #124
The Woodlands, Texas 77381
(936) 262-7474

The Woodlands, Texas

Nick Davis Law
26418 Oak Ridge Dr.
The Woodlands, TX 77380

(936) 262-7474

 

Bryan | College Station, Texas

Nick Davis Law
750 William D. Fitch Pkwy, Ste 210
College Station, TX 778455
(979) 417-2220
Business Hours

Mon - Fri  8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Our Mission

 

The Trusted Family, Divorce, Bankruptcy, CPS,  and Child Support Collection Lawyers at Nick Davis Law are dedicated to providing the best and most efficient representation possible to our clients to achieve their goals quickly and cost effectively.  The Family | Divorce | Bankruptcy | CPS | Child Support Collection Lawyers at Nick Davis Law maintain offices in The Woodlands, Texas and Bryan | College Station and serve all of Montgomery County, Brazos County, Walker County, Waller County, Grimes County, Washington County, Burleson County, San Jacinto County, Liberty County, Harris County, and surrounding counties.