Common Law Marriage - Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s Supreme Court has ruled as recently as March 2009, that common law marriage is recognized in Rhode Island. The High Court of Rhode Island stated the requirements for common law marriage in Rhode Island, which are 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 .

Rhode Island Law

"This state recognizes common-law marriage. [citation omitted] ‘Although marriage is of the nature of a civil contract, it is a contract which is subject to the regulation of the state, in which in its inception or its dissolution the state has a vital interest.’ (citing Silva v. Merritt Chapman & Scott Corp. , 52 R.I. 30, 32, 156 A. 512, 513 (1931). Therefore, to establish a common-law marriage, we have adopted the clear and convincing standard of proof. A common-law marriage requires ‘evidence that the parties seriously intended to enter into the husband-wife relationship.’ [citations omitted] In addition, the conduct of the parties must be ‘of such a character as to lead to a belief in the community that they were married.’ [citations omitted] The elements of intent and belief are demonstrated by ‘inference from cohabitation, declarations, reputation among kindred and friends, and other competent circumstantial evidence.’ (Smith v. Smith , 966 A.2d 109 (RI Sup. 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.)