Common-law Marriage

"[W]hen the parties cohabit, mutually acknowledge each other as husband and wife, and have the general reputation in the community as being a married couple for at least three years, a legal marriage exists upon the death of one spouse. Unfortunately, one-half of the couple must be dead and the marriage terminated before it can legally be declared to have been a marriage. This is otherwise known as the "I'd rather be dead than married" statute." p. 2-15.

"Often understood as a doctrine of convenience adopted in early America for frontier settlers lacking easy access to clergy or county clerks, the doctrine [of common-law marriage] began to wane in the late 19th century."