A common law marriage is what it’s called when a guy just doesn’t want to marry his girlfriend. It sounds a little bit legal, a little bit nicer than “I’m-good-enough-to-use-and-screw-but-
not-good-enough-to-become-a-real-wife”.
No. No, No, No. No! A thousand times NO.
A common-law marriage is a marriage. Where recognized, it is a marriage just like a marriage solemnized in a religious or civil ceremony. It has all of the legal rights and obligations of any other marriage.
Where a party becomes married under the common law in a jurisdiction that recognizes such marriages, they are considered married in all states, even those that don’t recognize common-law marriages. This was discussed above in regards to couples that lived together in New York (which does not recognize common-law marriages) but travelled briefly to Pensylvania (which does). In some cases, the courts have found that couples became married (in a common-law marriage) during their short stays in Pensylvania, and were thus recognized as married in New York.
What you’re thinking of is when a member of a cohabitiating couple is sometimes improperly described (usually by the news media) as a “common-law wife” or husband. This is generally in jurisdictions that do not recognize common-law marriages. Using this description is simply wrong.
In my opinion, the term, when used way, is often used as a subtle form of racial denigration. Inevitably, the news media will use it in a report like: “Leroy was arrested today in his home in the heart of the black ghetto. As he was led off in handcuffs, his common-law wife, Thelma, carrying two of her seven welfare babies, was left on the stoop of their dilapadated house in tears.” Used this way, it subtly points shows that Leroy and Thelma were not married or just living together, but rather were trying to put something over on someone in a way that shows lesser morals or regard for the laws than the middle class viewers the news show is aimed at. For instance, the guy with Jackie Onassis when she died was always described as her companion, or something like that, rather than something as low class as common-law husband.
As a Tax expert, I can say, even if you do qualify for a “common law Marriage”, as long as you don’t do joint checking or property ownership, the IRS will likely “not ask”, and you can happily go on filing “single”. On the other hand, if you have filed “joint” in the past, and get divorced or whatever, but still live together & split expenses/comingle funds, the Service CAN make you file “separate” or “Joint”.
Is there any subject of which Danny is not the master?
One of the qualifications in every jurisdiction which recognizes common-law marriage is that the partners to the marriage hold themselves out as husband and wife. Filing a “single” tax return does not meet that qualification. And assuming that at the state level the C-L marriage is recognized despite filing single returns, what you have suggested here is a fraud upon the US government which, I believe, is a felony. I hope that, should you actually work preparing taxes for clients, you do not recommend defrauding the government on a regular basis.