Common Law Marriage - Kansas

The State of Kansas case law states the essential elements to establish a Common Law Marriage, which 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 .

Kansas Law

The Kansas Supreme Court confirmed that Kansas has long recognized the validity of common-law marriage, and the basic elements essential in the creation of a common-law marriage are: 1) the capacity of the parties to marry, 2) a present marriage agreement, and 3) a holding out of each other as husband and wife to the public. (In re Estate of Mazlo , 211 Kan. 217 (1973), see also Gillaspie v. Blair Construction Co. , 192 Kan. 455, 458, 388 P. 2d 647; Sullivan v. Sullivan , 196 Kan. 705,  413 P. 2d 988, and Schrader v. Schrader , 207 Kan. 349, 484 P. 2d 1007 ).

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.)