There is no common law marriage in Connecticut. No matter how many years you live together, combine your finances, or introduce each other as spouses, Connecticut will not treat you as legally married unless you obtained a marriage license and held a ceremony with an authorized officiant. The one meaningful exception is a common law marriage you validly formed in another state before arriving here, which Connecticut generally honors.
Why Connecticut Won’t Treat Cohabitation as Marriage
Connecticut’s marriage statutes require a certified marriage license and a ceremony conducted by an authorized officiant, and without both there is no valid marriage under state law.1Connecticut General Assembly. Common-Law Marriage in Connecticut and Other States The Connecticut Supreme Court said as much in McAnerney v. McAnerney (1973), holding that the state does not recognize informal living arrangements as valid marriages, and reaffirmed the point in Boland v. Catalano (1987), stating that the rights and obligations of marriage do not arise when parties choose to cohabit outside it.2Connecticut General Assembly. OLR Report 2013-R-0264 – Common-Law Marriage
The practical result is simple. Living together, however long, creates no spousal rights in Connecticut. You do not gain the right to inherit under intestacy, make medical decisions for your partner, claim spousal support, or file joint state tax returns just because the relationship is longstanding.
Common Law Marriages From Other States
Connecticut will not let you create a common law marriage here, but it generally will honor one you validly formed somewhere that does recognize them. The state follows the usual rule that a marriage valid where contracted is valid everywhere, unless it violates strong public policy, and Connecticut courts have not treated common law marriage as that kind of violation. Trial courts have, for example, allowed a surviving common law spouse to pursue claims and have permitted a Rhode Island common law marriage to be dissolved through Connecticut divorce proceedings.3Connecticut General Assembly. Marriage: Full Faith and Credit
There is a limit worth knowing. Connecticut courts have refused to recognize out-of-state marriages contracted by Connecticut residents who traveled elsewhere specifically to get around a Connecticut marriage restriction. A weekend visit to a common-law-marriage state, with no genuine basis for the marriage under that state’s rules, will not qualify either. The marriage must actually meet the other state’s requirements, which typically include a present agreement to be married, cohabitation, and publicly holding yourselves out as a married couple.
Federal Taxes and Social Security
Federal agencies generally keep treating you as married after you move to Connecticut if your common law marriage was valid where you formed it. The IRS considers a couple married for federal tax purposes when they entered into a common law marriage in a state that recognizes it, even if they later moved to a state that does not, which allows a joint federal return under Section 6013.4Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2013-17
Social Security takes the same basic approach. To qualify for spousal or survivor benefits based on a common law marriage, the marriage has to have been contracted in a state that recognizes those unions.5Social Security Administration. GN 00305.060 Common-Law Marriage — General If you meet that requirement, moving to Connecticut does not strip your eligibility. If you only ever cohabited in Connecticut, you will not qualify.
What Unmarried Couples in Connecticut Should Put in Place
Because cohabitation alone gives you nothing, the protections married couples get automatically have to be built on purpose. Three categories cover most of what people lose by not being married.
A Cohabitation Agreement
A cohabitation agreement is a contract between unmarried partners addressing property, finances, and shared obligations. Connecticut courts enforce these under ordinary contract law. In Boland v. Catalano, the same decision that rejected common law marriage, the Supreme Court made clear that express contracts between cohabitants are a separate matter and are enforceable.2Connecticut General Assembly. OLR Report 2013-R-0264 – Common-Law Marriage A good one covers how shared expenses are split, who owns what, how assets and debts are divided if the relationship ends, and whether either partner will receive financial support afterward. Without one, a breakup can turn into a dispute over who paid for what, with no family-law framework to resolve it.
Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney
Spouses generally have automatic authority to make medical and financial decisions for an incapacitated partner. Unmarried partners do not. If your partner is hospitalized and cannot communicate, you can be shut out of decisions entirely unless the paperwork is already signed. A healthcare directive, sometimes called a healthcare proxy, lets you name your partner to make medical decisions for you. A durable power of attorney for finances lets your partner manage bank accounts, pay bills, and handle financial matters if you cannot. Both require you to be at least 18 and of sound mind when you sign.
A Will and Beneficiary Designations
Under Connecticut’s intestate succession rules, if you die without a will your assets pass to your closest relatives: spouse, children, parents, siblings. An unmarried partner is not on the list. Thirty years of shared life does not change that. A will or living trust can direct assets to your partner, and beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death bank accounts, and transfer-on-death brokerage accounts can send specific assets directly to your partner outside of probate. The frequent mistake is assuming the length of the relationship creates rights. In Connecticut, it does not.
Children Are Treated Separately
Parenting rights and obligations do not depend on marital status. Connecticut determines custody, visitation, and child support based on the parent-child relationship, so unmarried parents have the same core duties and potential rights as married ones. Unmarried fathers may need to establish paternity first, but once that step is done the same family-law framework applies.