Common Law Marriage - Colorado

The State of Colorado’s Common Law Marriage Requirements are shown below.

If you are living together, at a minimum you must have a cohabitation agreement, which you could draft yourself with easy-to-use software like that offered by Standard Legal.

Colorado Law

A common law marriage is established in Colorado by the mutual consent or agreement of the parties to be husband and wife. This is followed by a mutual and open assumption of a marital relationship. (Colorado Supreme Court in People v. Lucero , 747 P.2d 660 (1987), citing Klipfel’s Estate v. Klipfel , 41 Colo. 40, 46 (1907)). However, the Colorado Legislature passed a law that requires a minimum age of 18 to enter into a common law marriage after September 1, 2006. (Col. Rev. Stat. § 14-2-109.5 and Col. Rev. Stat. § 14-2-104 [referencing section 144-2-109.5] (2009)). This does not affect any marriage entered into prior to September 1, 2006.

For the long term, couples living together should consider a Living Will, Living Trust or simple Will. You don’t have to hire an attorney if you’re the average American. There are attorney-supervised services, such as Legal Zoom, who will prepare these more complex documents for you, and you can save up to 85% from regular attorney’s fees.

Common law marriage is still recognized in the following states and Washington D.C.:

(Click on any link to see the common law requirements for that state.)