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In the United States, common-law marriage, also known as sui juris marriage, informal marriage, marriage by habit and repute, or marriage in fact is a form of irregular marriage that survives only in seven U.S. states and the District of Columbia along with some provisions of military law; plus two other states that recognize domestic common law marriage after the fact for limited purposes.
Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, [1] [2] sui iuris marriage, informal marriage, de facto marriage, more uxorio or marriage by habit and repute, is a marriage that results from the parties' agreement to consider themselves married, followed by cohabitation, rather than through a statutorily defined process.
As understood in the United States, a civil union is a legally recognized status almost identical to marriage, whereas domestic partnership often connotes a lesser status that may or may not be recognized by local law. However, the terminology is still evolving; the exact level of rights and responsibilities of domestic partnership depends on ...
The term is not used consistently, which results in some inter-jurisdictional confusion. Some jurisdictions, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. states of California, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington use the term "domestic partnership" to mean what other jurisdictions call civil union, civil partnership, or registered partnership ...
As of 2015, all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia legally recognize and document same-sex relationships in some fashion, be it by same-sex marriage, civil union or domestic partnerships. Many counties and municipalities outside of these states also provide domestic partnership registries or civil unions which are not officially ...
Civil unions continue not to provide federal benefits. After same-sex marriage became legal in Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Delaware, those states ceased to offer civil unions. As of 2024, civil unions are still offered in Hawaii, [4] Illinois, [5] New Jersey, [6] and Colorado; [7] as well as in several Arizona towns. [8]
A New Jersey commission which reviewed the state's civil union law reported that the law "invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children". [9] Some have suggested that creating civil unions which are open to opposite-sex couples would avoid the accusations of apartheid.
In December 2006, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill providing for civil unions and recognizing other states' civil unions. The New Jersey Legislature enacted the Domestic Partnership Act on January 12, 2004, which came into effect on July 10, 2004. The law made domestic partnerships available to all same-sex couples, as well as to ...