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English law grants very few rights to people in a common law marriage. It's really important to correct the myth that common law marriage means anything because it really doesn't in England.

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Right. All of this is very jurisdiction specific (spatially and temporally). My understanding: Living together like a married couple long enough conveys actual marriage in some places in the US, various rights some other places in the US, not very much in England and Wales, and up to recently more in Scotland but that changed in 2006 and now Scotland is much like the rest of the UK.

>My understanding: Living together like a married couple long enough conveys actual marriage in some places in the US, various rights some other places in the US

Intent and agreement is a big one, not length of cohabitation. The two both must consent and intend on being married and basically tell everyone they are married. Just cohabitation for a long time isn't enough. Nobody can suddenly "find" themselves in a common law marriage they didn't intend or want to enter into, they both must intentionally agree to enter into one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage_in_the_Unit...

Right, the "like a married couple" is stronger than that could've been read. An important point. Details still vary by jurisdiction.

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