Estate of Martin, No. 06-22-00061-CV, 2023 WL 3185811 (Tex. App.—Texarkana May 2, 2023, no pet. h.).
After the intestate died, an alleged common law spouse presented facts to prove the marriage including the intestate’s death certificate which stated they were married. After reviewing the evidence, the jury determined no common law marriage existed and that the intestate’s son was the sole heir.
The Texarkana Court of Appeals affirmed. The court reviewed the conflicting evidence on the three elements of a common law marriage: (1) agreeing to be married, (2) living together in Texas as husband and wife, and (3) representing to others that they are married. The court determined that the jury’s decision that they were not married was not so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence that it was clearly wrong and unjust.
Moral: A person alleging a common law marriage needs to present strong evidence at the trial level because it will be difficult to set aside a jury finding that a common law marriage did not exist.