Navigating the legal complexities of common-law marriage
What to Do if Your Common Law Spouse Dies with Real Estate in Their Name
What if your common-law spouse dies and the real estate and other property was solely in their name? I’m Tulsa attorney James Wirth, that’s the question that we received online that I’m answering here, and we need to know what you would do under those circumstances.
So first off, if it is a common-law marriage, that means essentially that you’re married. So it’s no different in the legal consequences if you have a marriage certificate versus a common-law marriage.
Understanding the Legal Consequences of Common Law Marriage
The only difference is in the practical side, which is that you have to prove the existence of a common-law marriage, whereas it’s already pretty much proven when you’ve got a marriage license filed with the county that you are married.
So if this happens in your case, you want to file a probate action. You want a request to be the personal representative of the estate, and in there, you want to file to prove you’re a common-law spouse.
Determining Distribution of Marital and Separate Property
Once you have proven in there that you’re a common-law spouse you’re gonna be treated exactly the same as if you had a marriage license on file. So how is that treated? Well, it depends.
So did your spouse have a will in place, last will and testament that said there were other properties to go? Or did they die intestate, in which case it’s gonna go by the rules of intestate succession.
Schedule Your Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
If you’re dealing with this circumstance, it’s nice to have some general information for a video, but you’re definitely gonna wanna talk to a Tulsa probate attorney privately and confidentially to receive actionable legal advice. To get that scheduled with a Tulsa attorney at Wirth Law Office, you can call 918-879-1681 or go online to makelaweasy.com.
