Common Law Marriage
Q.There is a man and a woman who have lived together for 20 years but never made public declarations of intent to marry each other. Over the course of the last six years, the woman has succumbed to alcoholism, stopped working/bringing in any income, and has squandered the banked money in their joint savings while lying saying the credit cards were being paid. She took that money and 'drank it'. There is now a huge amount of credit card debt and the woman refuses to seek treatment. The man wants out of the relationship, out of their lease, and out of the debts she ran up. Does anyone have any advice relating to how this man can somehow get out of this without getting financially screwed?
A.Living together over a long period is not enough, in most jurisdictions the parties must also hold themselves out to be husband and wife. There may be "palimony" issues even if there's no common-law marriage. Without a common-law marriage, however, your friend may not be responsible for any debts he didn't sign for -- or he may, if they were incurred for common living expenses. This is all highly fact based, in addition to depending on state law. Your friend should consult an attorney, perhaps one who specializes in divorce or in family law. I don't recall if Pennsylvania recognizes common law marriage, but simple cohabitation does not necessarily mean common law marriage in common law marriage states. What may be more important is whether Pennsylvania law recognizes alternate relationships and agreements that may have an effect and whether there may be a family purpose statute applying to some of the debts. Both partners probably should seek separate advice from domestic relations lawyers.
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