Common law marriage is simply a different way of becoming married and involves different methods of proving the marriage exists or existed. So, a couple married at common law is just as married as a couple who undergo a formal marriage ceremony.
It is wrong to think that people who live together for a set period of time are in a common law marriage. However, a couple can live together one night and be common law married and live together twenty years yet still not be married. So, when there are no obstacles to marriage, then the test of a common law marriage is the present objective to be married. You can distinguish a common law marriage from an engagement with a present intent.
 Nevertheless, the parties meet the legal requirements to marry. Having been already married to others, people cannot marry once more and thus they cannot marry at common law. That's why, a cohabiting sexual relationship that begins with an impediment to marriage is presumed not to be a common law marriage. Consequently, if a couple begin living together and one or both parties are married to someone else, then this is considered not to be a marriage. This also concerns even those cases if the married party later obtains a divorce.
Issues of proof are created with a common law marriage. According a ceremonial marriage, there will be some official public record of the parties’ marriage. As for a common law marriage, the proof of it can be factually complex. To establish a common law marriage you need proof of reputation and cohabitation. For being married at common law, the parties have to live together. Moreover, having a reputation for being married during this period of cohabitation is also required. That is they must have held themselves out as husband and wife. There is no marriage if only one party to the relationship holds him or herself out as married.
People who know the couple and know how the couple described their relationship can help in accomplishing the reputation aspect of proving the common law marriage. It is also possible to do through records. It means filing joint tax returns as a married couple; using the same surnames; listing the other on employment documents as one's spouse; buying property together.
The couple who are in a common law marriage enjoys the same rights and responsibilities as a couple married ceremonially. Thus they have the right to look for spousal support and alimony and look for the equitable division of marital property. Besides, children born of the marriage are lawfully presumed to be children of the husband. The last has full guardianship rights until and unless the family court orders otherwise. Moreover, they have to obtain a divorce if they want to terminate their relationship.
If the couple is married and entering into any subsequent "marriage" without being divorced is considered to be a bigamous and void marriage. So, entering into such marriage because a common law marriage was not terminated by divorce creates a legal morass. This will lead to much litigation.
However, this problem will not arise until one party dies and his or her estate needs to be probated. So, being married at common law, it will be better to have a legal determination of whether a marriage existed. Such couple should obtain a divorce before either of them remarry in case the court determines a marriage existed.
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