Up until about two years ago, a good portion of questions which came through this blog were questions about common-law marriage. Usually, it was someone asking whether or not they had a common law marriage and if so/if not, what they needed to do to dissolve it or enforce it.

I felt bad for many of those people who described facts in which a long-term relationship abruptly ended or the need to be designated as a spouse to receive medical benefits. Often, their facts simply did not describe the criteria for a common law marriage under Pennsylvania law before it was abolished in 2004. The one critical factor always seemed to be lack of any specific intent to be considered "married" by the parties.

An interesting case out of Bucks County, however, recently applied common law marriage to a same-sex couple even though one of the partners was dead. The Honorable Theodore Fritsch Jr. granted the request of Sabrina Mauer to have her twelve year relationship with Kimberly Underwood declared a common law marriage. Ms. Maurer cited their 2001 New Jersey commitment ceremony as indicia of their intent to be married.

Ms. Mauer brought the Bucks County action after Ms. Underwood passed away in November 2013.  Since then she's been refused certain spousal benefits and is required to pay inheritance taxes on Underwood's estate; issues which, ironically, are nearly identical to those raised by Edith Winsor in the seminal same-sex marriage case, United States v. Windsor.

Judge Fritsch found the marriage valid back to the date of their New Jersey commitment ceremony. An article by Gina Passarella of The Legal Intellgencier quotes the Order as stating, "[their] marriage is valid and enforceable, and they are entitled to all rights and privileges of validly licensed, married spouses in all respects under the laws of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Ms. Passarella also identifies that of the several governmental agencies which were put on notice of the action, none appeared to contest the case; the Department of Revenue sought more time to respond before opting not to take a position which, in such cases, is very much a position.

Prior to civil unions, domestic partnerships, and, eventually, marriage, exchanging rings and having a commitment ceremony before friends and family was perhaps the only symbolic way a same-sex couple could celebrate a commitment to each other.  This case proves that what was once a symbol, without any legal import in 2001, can ironically fulfill in 2015 the elusive element of common law marriage by demonstrating a public or cognizable intent of the parties to be married.

Unaddressed in the judge's order or the article is the consideration of whether or not the timing of the entire relationship factored into the decision. Ms. Mauer's common law marriage began in 2001 before the 2004 abolition of common law marriage and ended upon Ms. Underwood's death in November 2013 – four or five months after Windsor essentially legalized same-sex marriage. Any common law marriage must be deemed to have been entered into before January 1, 2005; less certain is whether the relationship had to continue through the Windsor decision to be a valid common law marriage. If Ms. Underwood had passed away in 2012, would it have changed the outcome? Perhaps, it would. It may take other same-sex couples or widow/ers to raise this issue, but Judge Fritsch's decision undoubtedly opens the door for such questions to be considered.

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