Proving a Common-Law Marriage in Colorado

It turns on whether both of you agreed to be married and what you did afterward. No single document decides it, and a signed affidavit does not settle it either.

Colorado still recognizes common-law marriage, and a recognized one has the same legal effect as a licensed one. That means it ends by death or divorce, not by moving out.

If someone is asserting a marriage you dispute, or you are asserting one and expect to be contradicted, this is an evidence problem.

A valid common law marriage carries the same rights and duties as a licensed one, so ending it takes a dissolution case. Common law marriage in a Colorado divorce explains how that case works when the marriage itself is disputed.

First: Who Can Have One

There is one statute on this and it works as a threshold. A common-law marriage entered on or after September 1, 2006 is valid only if both parties were at least eighteen at the time and the marriage is not otherwise prohibited.¹ If that is not met, the evidence question never arises.

It is the only statute that sets conditions on a common-law marriage, and a separate provision preserves otherwise valid ones. Everything else about proving one comes from case law.

The Legal Test

The controlling decision is from the Colorado Supreme Court in January 2021, which refined a framework that had stood since 1987. A common-law marriage may be established by the mutual consent or agreement of the couple to enter the legal and social institution of marriage, followed by conduct manifesting that agreement.² The core question is whether both of you intended to enter a marital relationship.

Two things follow from the word mutual. One partner believing they were married is not enough, and an express statement such as calling each other spouses carries weight but is not the end of the inquiry.

The order matters as well. The agreement comes first and the conduct comes after it, which is why a court looks at what happened following the point you say you became married.

One part of that decision is often left out. The conduct does not have to take the form of mutual public acknowledgment or open cohabitation in every case, though some objective evidence of the relationship is still needed.

That relaxation applies where a couple’s choice not to publicize is explained by something other than a lack of agreement to marry. It matters most for couples who had reasons to keep the relationship private.

No Single Fact Decides It

The companion case decided the same day settles how the evidence is weighed. Whether a common-law marriage exists depends on the totality of the circumstances, and no single factor is dispositive.³ That cuts both ways, which people tend to forget.

Living together for years does not create a marriage, and Colorado has no minimum duration. A joint tax return, a shared surname, or a ring supports a claim without deciding it.

Separate finances, different surnames, and the absence of a ceremony do not disprove one either. A court is looking for a consistent story rather than a checklist score.

Need to know where you stand before you divide anything?

Marital status decides which remedies exist, so it is worth settling before you rely on an assumption. Schedule a free consultation with Johnson Law Group and we will tell you how your records actually read.

What Evidence Looks Like

Courts look for a pattern across independent sources. Joint bank, credit, mortgage, lease, and property records. Joint tax returns and shared financial responsibility.

Estate planning can carry real weight, because it is deliberate. Wills, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations naming the other person as a spouse are hard to explain away.

Then the softer evidence: insurance and employment benefit forms, messages and cards, invitations, and testimony from people who saw how you lived. How you described the relationship to others matters too.

Keep the qualification above in mind while reading that list. None of these categories is required, and a thin record in one of them is not fatal where the rest is consistent.

If One Partner Denies It

A denial turns this into a contested factual question, usually resolved at an evidentiary hearing. Both sides testify, present documents, call witnesses, and challenge each other.

The person asserting the marriage carries the burden, on the ordinary civil standard of more likely than not. Vague claims without supporting evidence do not meet it.

A 2026 Court of Appeals decision shows how far that can go. The court affirmed a finding that no marriage existed even though the couple had signed a notarized common-law marriage affidavit, because their broader conduct did not show mutual intent.⁴ A signed document is evidence, not proof.

The practical lesson runs in both directions. If you are asserting a marriage, one strong document will not carry a case the surrounding conduct contradicts. If you are disputing one, a document against you is not the end of it.

Relationships That Began Before 2014

If your relationship predates Colorado recognizing a right to marry, it is still in reach. A court may recognize a common-law same-sex marriage entered in Colorado before the state recognized that right.⁵ That decision came down the same day as the test itself.

The reasoning connects to the public acknowledgment point above. A couple who had reasons not to publicize a relationship is not penalized for that choice when a court weighs the conduct.

Why the Answer Matters

If a marriage is found, the ordinary rules apply. Colorado property division and Colorado alimony become available, along with everything else a dissolution can address.

If no marriage is found, those remedies are generally unavailable, though a partner who believed in good faith that they were married may have rights as a putative spouse.⁶ A putative spouse acquires the rights of a legal spouse, including maintenance after that status ends.

Otherwise what remains is ownership law and whatever contract or equitable claims exist between you. That is a narrower set of tools than a Colorado divorce provides.

Ending a recognized common-law marriage takes a decree of dissolution. A legal separation can address property, maintenance, parenting, and support, and it leaves you legally married.⁷

What to Gather Before You Call

Start with records showing both intent and daily conduct. Lease, mortgage, deed, and household expense records, and joint bank, credit, loan, and investment statements.

Add tax returns and benefit enrollment forms, insurance policies and beneficiary designations, and any wills, powers of attorney, or estate planning documents.

Then the correspondence and the people. Messages referring to the relationship as a marriage, and the names of witnesses who saw how you presented it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many years do we have to live together?

There is no minimum. Colorado sets no duration requirement, and cohabitation alone does not create a marriage however long it lasts. What matters is whether both of you agreed to be married and whether your conduct afterward showed it.

Does a signed affidavit prove a common-law marriage?

No. A 2026 Colorado Court of Appeals decision affirmed that no marriage existed despite a notarized common-law marriage affidavit, because the couple’s broader conduct did not show mutual intent. A signed document is evidence rather than proof.

Who has to prove it, and to what standard?

The person asserting the marriage carries the burden, on the ordinary civil standard of more likely than not. A court weighs the totality of the circumstances, and no single factor decides the question either way.

Do we have to have told people we were married?

Not necessarily. Colorado’s controlling decision holds that conduct manifesting the agreement need not take the form of mutual public acknowledgment or open cohabitation in every case. That matters for couples who had reasons not to publicize the relationship.

Can a relationship from before same-sex marriage was recognized count?

Yes. A Colorado Supreme Court decision holds that a court may recognize a common-law same-sex marriage entered in Colorado before the state recognized same-sex couples’ right to marry.

Talk With a Colorado Family Law Attorney

These are evidence cases, and they are usually decided on how the whole record reads rather than on any one document. Knowing how yours reads is worth doing before you divide anything or sign anything.

Johnson Law Group works through these records with clients across the state, and you can learn more about our approach on our Colorado family law page. You can find our offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Englewood, and Fort Collins.

You can also read about the background and experience of the attorneys on our team. Schedule a free consultation and bring whatever records you already have.

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