Common Law Marriage - New Hampshire

New Hampshire only recognizes common law marriage for the purpose of inheritance. The relevant statute from the New Hampshire Revised Statutes is stated below.

However, 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 .

New Hampshire Law

New Hampshire Law states:  "Persons cohabiting and acknowledging each other as husband and wife, and generally reputed to be such, for the period of 3 years, and until the decease of one of them, shall thereafter be deemed to have been legally married." N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 457:39 (2009).

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.)