In California, certain requirements need to be met for a couple to be considered legally wed. If these requirements are not met, they will not have the same legal protections and rights as those who are married. One exception is a putative spouse.
A putative spouse is someone who believes in good faith that they are legally married to their partner, but their marriage is considered invalid.
Examples of Putative Spouse:
- A couple believes they’ve filed the proper paperwork for their marriage to be considered valid but it’s not. This is usually seen in marriages performed in other countries or through religious ceremonies that do not meet United States legal requirements for the marriage to be considered valid.
- One person believes that their previous marriage concluded in a valid divorce, they then get married to someone else but discover that their first marriage was not properly concluded. The Court of Law will consider them legally married to their first spouse.
- Also, it includes situations where a spouse intentionally committed bigamy by hiding another marriage.
In the last scenario, where one spouse intentionally commits bigamy, the punitive spouse is the spouse that did not participate in the bigamy, they are the innocent party.
How can one Prove they are a Punitive Spouse?
A putative spouse is a person who unknowingly entered an invalid marriage, believing in good faith that it is a valid marriage. As stated under California Code §225, the Court can declare that the party or parties who believed in good faith that they were married have the status of a putative spouse. Good faith is measured by what a reasonable prudent person would believe, given the same or similar circumstances.
To prove good faith, the Courts would usually look to whether the couple carried themselves as a married couple, few examples of this would include if the couple lived together, filed their taxes together jointly as a married couple, or applied for marriage-related benefits such as joint loans, mortgages, or any other financial matter.
What Rights does a Punitive Spouse have?
While the news may be shocking that your marriage is not considered legally valid under the California Court, there is good news. California does recognize the putative spouse doctrine, which means that the putative spouse is entitled to marital property rights.
Divorce with a Punitive Spouse
The party will be treated with the same protections as a legally wed couple during a divorce. With this, when a party is granted putative spouse status at divorce, the assets, debts, and property acquired during their marriage will be divided according to California’s Community Property law. Moreover, spousal support may also be awarded to the punitive spouse.
Death of Punitive Spouse
When it comes to instate succession, this usually occurs when the deceased spouse does not have a will. A California putative spouse does have intestate succession rights. A surviving punitive spouse will be entitled to cussed to an intestate share of the decedent spouse’s estate. The only thing that a punitive spouse would not be entitled to is family allowance.
Important Note: A party loses putative spouse status the moment that the party knows the marriage did not exist, and therefore will not receive any of the benefits of a spouse including support and property rights.
The laws regarding putative spouses are a complex issue. If you have any questions about whether you qualify as a punitive spouse and to see if you are protected under California law, please do not hesitate to contact Butler Law, PC for more information.