Living Together Is Not Marriage
ORC 3105.12 — common law marriage stopped forming in Ohio on 10 October 1991
The belief that living together for some number of years makes a marriage is one of the most widely held pieces of wrong law in the state. There is no such number in Ohio, and there has not been one for over thirty years. What makes the misunderstanding expensive is that it is usually discovered at the worst possible moment: at a hospital, at a funeral, or in a probate court.
Who handles this in Ohio: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
On and after 10 October 1991, common law marriages are prohibited in this state. Except as the section's own exceptions provide, a marriage may occur in this state only if the marriage is solemnized by a person described in the section on who may solemnize a marriage, and only if the marriage otherwise is in compliance with the marriage chapter. Time spent living together, holding yourselves out as married, sharing a name, or raising children together does not, by itself, create a marriage in Ohio.
Two kinds of common law marriage are still valid here. A common law marriage that came into existence in this state before 10 October 1991, and has not been terminated by death, divorce, dissolution of marriage or annulment, remains valid. So does one that came into existence, before or after that date, in another state or nation that recognizes the validity of common law marriages in accordance with all relevant aspects of that place's law, provided it has not been terminated by death, divorce, dissolution, annulment or other judicial determination in this or another state or nation, and is not otherwise deemed invalid under the section on who may be joined in marriage.
The second exception is the one that does real work today. A couple who became common law married under the law of a state that recognizes it, and then moved here, are married in Ohio. The marriage was made somewhere else and Ohio's prohibition on forming one here does not unmake it.
A valid common law marriage ends the same way any marriage does. Where one of the exceptions applies, the marriage is a marriage, which means it is terminated by death, divorce, dissolution of marriage or annulment and not by moving out. A couple who believe themselves informally married and simply separate may still be married, with everything that follows from that.
| The situation | A marriage in Ohio |
|---|---|
| The situationCame into existence in Ohio before 10 October 1991, never terminated | A marriage in OhioYes |
| The situationCame into existence in a state or nation that recognizes it, never terminated | A marriage in OhioYes |
| The situationLiving together in Ohio, any number of years, since 10 October 1991 | A marriage in OhioNo |
| The situationSolemnized under the marriage chapter | A marriage in OhioYes, on its own terms |
Where there is no marriage, the consequences are not confined to divorce court. Intestate succession, the right to make decisions for a person who cannot, and the right of disposition over a body all run through statutory lists that name a surviving spouse, and a partner who is not one is not on those lists by virtue of the relationship.
Whether a particular relationship formed a valid common law marriage in another state, under that state's own elements, is a question of that state's law and of evidence, and is for a licensed attorney rather than a page. Cohabitation agreements, jointly held property, beneficiary designations and powers of attorney are separate instruments that do their own work and are not covered here.
Sources for this section (4)
- ORC 3105.12 — Proof of marriage, and the abolition of common law marriage
- ORC 3101.08 — Who may solemnize a marriage
- ORC 3101.01 — Persons who may be joined in marriage
- ORC 2108.81 — The right of disposition where no declaration was made
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.