Does Social Security recognize common law marriage?
Social Security uses state law to determine marital relationship including common-law marriages. Currently only Alabama, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Utah recognize common-law marriages. Each state has rules regarding how couples establish the marriage, usually including cohabiting and holding themselves out to the public as husband and wife. States do not normally recognize common-law marriages unless both members of the couple were free to enter into a marriage, ceremonial or otherwise. Some states, like Pennsylvania, might still recognize a marriage as "common law" if there was a ceremony, but the ceremony was invalid because one of the parties was not free to marry, old enough to marry legally, etc. If the reason why the ceremony is invalid no longer exists, the marriage may be considered legal. Each situation must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
When a couple alleges they have contracted a common-law marriage, Social Security develops the allegation by securing statements from not only the couple but from blood relatives. The fact this might be embarrassing will not justify forbidding the agency to get the statements. If one member of the couple is deceased, then the agency may need extra statements from blood relatives of the deceased before paying benefits to the surviving common-law spouse.
Many people do not go through a ceremonial marriage because they are embarrassed–they do not want any public notices of the ceremony to be seen. To solve this problem some states, like California, have special confidential marriage rules so there is no public notice of the marriage published.
Some states recognized common-law marriages in the past. For example, Pennsylvania recognized them until January 1, 2005. Common-law marriages contracted before that date could still be valid in Pennsylvania.
Common-law couples need to check out the law in their state immediately to see if their relationship makes them a married couple. Finding out after one member dies and the other tries to file for survivor benefits that the marriage did not meet the requirements could have tragic results for the widow or widower who then could be left ineligible for any survivor benefits from Social Security.
Social Security follows the laws of the state where the worker was residing at the time of death or the place where the worker is residing when the spouse applies for benefits. In order for a common law marriage to be valid, it must have been contracted in a state where common-law marriages are recognized. Many states do not honor common-law marriages, so you should check local laws. However, most states (even those in which a man and woman could not enter into a valid common-law marriage) will generally recognize a common-law marriage validly entered into in another state. Again, check local laws.
