Common Law Marriage in Florida: Does Living Together Make You Married?

A couple in Jacksonville has been together for nine years. They share a house, a car loan, and a joint bank account, and friends have long called them husband and wife. Then he is rushed to the hospital after a car crash, and the staff asks who his next of kin is.

She expects to be the one making decisions. Instead, she learns that under Florida law she is treated as a “close friend,” and the hospital calls his sister in another state first. Many couples believe living together for years gives them the same rights as marriage, and many find out otherwise at the worst possible moment.

This guide explains whether Florida recognizes common law marriage, which beliefs about it are myths, the few situations where it still counts, what unmarried couples lose under Florida law, what happens when they separate, and how partners can protect each other.

Does Florida Recognize Common Law Marriage?

No. Under Section 741.211, no common law marriage entered into in Florida after January 1, 1968, is valid. That rule is still in effect in 2026, no matter how long a couple has lived together.

A common law marriage is a marriage created without a license or a ceremony, based only on how a couple lives and presents itself. A few states still allow it, but in Florida, a shared life without a license creates no legal marriage at all.

The “Seven-Year Rule” and Other Common Myths

Many couples rely on beliefs about common law marriage that have no basis in Florida law:

• “After seven years, we are married”: No state sets a number of years, including Florida. Couples who live together for decades in Florida remain legally single.
• “We use the same last name and call each other husband and wife”: Neither creates a marriage in Florida.
• “We share a lease, a mortgage, or a bank account”: Shared accounts and property affect ownership of those assets, not your marital status.
• “We have children together”: Children have rights to both parents, but having children does not make the parents married.
• “We signed a declaration or registered as domestic partners”: Florida has no statewide domestic partnership. Some cities and counties keep registries, but they offer only limited local benefits, and only a marriage license creates a marriage.

When Florida Will Recognize a Common Law Marriage

There are only two situations where a common law marriage counts in Florida: an older Florida marriage formed before the 1968 cutoff, or, far more common today, a marriage validly formed in another state that allows it, such as Texas, Colorado, or Utah. Here is how that works in practice:

A recognized common law marriage is a real marriage. If the couple separates, they must go through a Florida divorce to end it, the same as any married couple, and neither can remarry until they do.

What Other States Generally Require

Each state that allows common law marriage sets its own rules, and Florida applies the law of the state where the couple lived at the time. In most of these states, a couple must show three things:

• An agreement to be married: Both partners intended to be married now, not someday.
• Living together in that state: The couple actually lived there as a household.
• Presenting themselves as married: Friends, family, and others knew them as a married couple.

Evidence often includes joint tax returns filed as married, insurance or employment forms listing each other as a spouse, and statements from people who knew the couple. Proof matters, because a Florida court, a hospital, or a government agency may ask for it years later.

Military Families Moving to Jacksonville

Many service members arrive in Northeast Florida after assignments in states that allow common law marriage, such as Texas and Colorado. A couple who formed a valid common law marriage while living there remains married in Florida, and the military generally treats a valid common-law spouse the same as any other spouse for benefits.

The military does require special documentation to prove the marriage before issuing benefits. Couples should gather that proof early, while witnesses and records are easy to find, rather than after a deployment or a death.

What Unmarried Couples Do Not Get Under Florida Law

Because Florida treats unmarried partners as legally single, many protections that spouses receive automatically do not apply to them:

What Happens When an Unmarried Couple Separates

When married couples split up, a divorce court divides everything at once. Unmarried partners have no single case that sorts out their lives, so each issue has to be resolved on its own.

The Shared Home and Other Property

Florida’s rules for dividing marital property do not apply to unmarried couples. When they separate, property generally belongs to the person whose name is on it. A partner who helped pay a mortgage on a home titled to the other partner may have little or no claim to it.

Property owned together is different. Either co-owner can ask a court to divide or sell it through a partition case. Florida courts also enforce a written agreement between unmarried partners about property and support, as long as it is not based on a sexual relationship.

Joint Debts, Leases, and Accounts

A breakup does not change what each partner signed. These obligations often cause the most trouble:

• Joint loans and credit cards: Each person who signed is usually responsible for the full balance, no matter who made the purchases.
• Leases: Both tenants generally remain responsible for the rent until the lease ends or the landlord agrees to release one of them.
• Joint bank accounts: Either owner can usually withdraw the money, so couples should agree on how to split the account before anyone empties it.
• Car titles and loans: The names on the title and the loan decide who owns the car and who must keep paying.

Children of Unmarried Parents

Children have the same right to support from both parents whether or not the parents are married. Until a father legally establishes paternity, however, Florida treats the mother as the only legal guardian, and the father has no court-ordered time with the child. Our page on child custody explains how unmarried fathers establish their rights.

Unmarried Partners and Immigration

For couples where one partner is not a U.S. citizen, the difference between living together and being married is especially important. A green card through marriage requires a legal marriage, and USCIS does not treat a long-term partner as a spouse, no matter how many years the couple has shared a home in Florida.

USCIS follows the rules of the state where a relationship began, so a valid common law marriage from another state can still qualify after a move to Florida. For couples whose relationship began in Florida, the only path to a marriage-based green card is a marriage performed with a license.

How Unmarried Couples in Florida Can Protect Each Other

Florida does not give unmarried partners rights automatically, but couples can create many of them with the right documents. The most important steps are:

• Write a will: A will lets you leave property to your partner. One exception is your homestead, which generally cannot go to a partner if you leave a minor child.
• Sign health care and financial documents: A health care surrogate designation and a durable power of attorney put your partner first in line instead of behind every relative.
• Update beneficiary designations: Name your partner on life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts.
• Plan for the home: Joint ownership with a right of survivorship or a Lady Bird deed can pass the home to your partner without probate.
• Sign a cohabitation agreement: A written agreement can set out who owns what and what happens if you separate.
• Consider marriage: In Florida, marriage is the only way to receive all the rights of a spouse, and a prenuptial agreement can protect each person’s property.

How Weldon Law Group Can Help

Unmarried couples usually come to us at one of two moments: when they decide to plan together, or after a breakup or a death has shown them how little the law gives them. The first conversation is much easier, and it often costs less than a later dispute.

Weldon Law Group, PLLC works with couples and families in Jacksonville and throughout Northeast Florida on the family law, estate planning, and immigration questions that living together raises, and our family law team serves clients in English and Spanish. We can help with:

• Planning as a couple: Wills, powers of attorney, health care designations, and plans for a shared home.
• Cohabitation agreements: Written terms for property and finances while you live together and if you separate.
• Out-of-state marriages: Determining whether a common-law marriage from another state is recognized and ending it through divorce.
• Separations: Resolving disputes over a shared home or other property.
• Parents who are not married: Establishing paternity, time-sharing, and support.
• Couples with immigration questions: Showing whether a relationship qualifies for a marriage-based green card.

Schedule a free consultation with Weldon Law Group to talk through your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions