I’ve never heard of any state or the federal gov. prosecuting any common law couples for not filing their taxes as “married”.
Look at what “common law” actually is; its a presumption of that certain oral contracts have been made and are binding. The law does the same thing with parents and adult children when their is a lack of documentation to the contrary.
Why in the world should the state get a say on whether two adults get married, and if they do have a say, shouldn’t the state also penalize those people if they live together without being married. What we have now is illogical and irreligious.
I knew a very rich guy in Oklahoma that had lived as man and wife with a woman for 30 years. She filed for divorce and got nothing, strangely the guy left all his money to charity, which was administered by the judges son.
It is always about he money, and the lawyers that steal it.
Oklahoma: To establish a common-law marriage, a man and woman must (1) be competent; (2) agree to enter into a marriage relationship; and (3) cohabit. ...
When HB1455 did not receive a committee hearing in the Oklahoma Senate in 2005, the bill banning common law marriage in Oklahoma died and the controversy ...
I’m a little rusty on this, but from what I recall, the License becomes a contract between three parties, one being the state. This would make the whole filing taxes jointly or married filed separate a little more of an assumed requirement.
Although failing to do so probably would never be much of an issue unless an audit came along.
But you make a very interesting point. If an established Common Law marriage ended up in the courts the licensed counterpart laws would most likely be applied. Given this probability, why would the state not have standing in fining those common law marriages?
“Why in the world should the state get a say on whether two adults get married, “
Because the State should promote that children be raised by a mother AND a father.