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Introduction: Cohabitants Do Not Possess the Same Rights as Married People
More and more, Maryland society is seeing unmarried cohabitation among its romantically linked population. In the past, cohabitation was generally shunned on moral grounds, but today the tendency is for cohabitation to be socially accepted on a much wider scale. For this reason, readers should be familiar with some of the core legal issues presented by unmarried cohabitation in Maryland.
Perhaps the most critical point to get across is the fact that unmarried cohabitants do not possess the same legal rights as married people in the State of Maryland. This is true no matter how long the unmarried cohabitants live together, as Maryland is not a state which grants common law marriage status (more below). When couples marry, the participants acquire certain tax and legal treatments which are not accorded to unmarried persons.
Maryland Does Not Create – But Recognizes – Common Law Marriage
Although Maryland itself does not have a pathway to common law marriage status, Maryland does recognize common law marriages which have already been formally recognized by other states. In other words, if a couple demonstrates evidence of out-of-state common law status, this couple will be treated as a formally married couple in the State of Maryland.
Cohabitants Should Consider “Cohabitation Contracts” for Property Issues
One major question which comes about with unmarried cohabitants is how property disputes might be handled. When parties live together, there is always the tendency for ownership of certain assets or liabilities to shift over time, and so private agreements are typically very helpful in this area. In Maryland, property contracts executed between unmarried cohabitants are fully enforceable – just as enforceable as those created among married persons, provided that the contracts fulfill all the normal elements of contract law. If unmarried cohabitants want to create a property agreement which automatically carries over and applies when the couple marries, this type of agreement is also possible.
Property agreements for unmarried cohabitants don’t follow any particular format or style, they just need to be superficially valid (i.e. fulfill all technical legal requirements) and be sufficiently detailed when it comes to the property and goals of the parties.
In addition to developing new property agreements, cohabitants might also consider retitling certain real property already owned, or titling real property acquired in the future, in order to ensure that the ownership intent of the parties is fully observed. If an agreement claims that a certain piece of property is titled a certain way, this can create issues if that particular property isn’t actually titled that way. It is important to always ensure that property is titled in a manner which accurately reflects the ownership goals of the parties involved.
What about Promises to Marry?
If someone breaks a promise to marry someone else, can the promise breaker be sued? This question is likely to be relevant to those involved in unmarried cohabitation, as cohabitation arrangements are likely to see marriage promises. The short answer is “no,” breaking a promise doesn’t open up someone to liability, but there may be an exception when the suing party is pregnant. However, even in this exceptional case, there needs to be substantial concrete evidence of the promise to marry, the evidence cannot simply be the suing party’s personal word.
In the future, we will come back and discuss some of the issues faced by unmarried cohabitants with children.
Contact the Murphy Law Firm for More Resources
Readers who want to learn more about the issues facing unmarried couples in Maryland, common law marriages, the process for recognizing an out-of-state common law marriage in Maryland, or any other pertinent family law topic, contact one of the family law attorneys at the Murphy Law Firm today by calling 240-219-1187.
