Problems With Assuming Georgia Recognizes Common-Law Marriage or Domestic Partnerships

Georgia stopped allowing new common-law marriages in 1997 and has no domestic partnership status of its own. If you and your partner aren't legally married, Georgia law treats you as legal strangers no matter how long you've been together. Four documents fix this: a will or trust, a power of attorney, a healthcare directive, and updated beneficiary forms.

Find Out Where You Stand

Georgia stopped allowing new common-law marriages on January 1, 1997. The state has never created a domestic partnership status of its own. Maybe you and your partner have lived together for years. Maybe you split every bill and call each other husband and wife. None of that makes you legally married in Georgia.

Without a will, a trust, or the right beneficiary forms, Georgia law treats your partner as a legal stranger when you die. Your partner would have no more claim to your property than a person you’ve never met.

The fix is the same whether you’ve been together two years or twenty. Name your partner directly in a will or trust. Add a power of attorney. Add a healthcare directive. Update your beneficiary forms too. For the full guide to every kind of Georgia household, see Estate Planning for Georgia Families.

Does Georgia Recognize Common-Law Marriage?

No. Georgia stopped allowing new common-law marriages on January 1, 1997. Under O.C.G.A. § 19-3-1.1, no common-law marriage can form in Georgia on or after that date.

A common-law marriage formed before 1997 is still valid today. So is one formed in another state that still allows it. That marriage must have happened before the couple moved to Georgia. Living together in Georgia after 1996 does not create a marriage. That’s true no matter how many years pass.

What About a Domestic Partnership?

Georgia has no statewide domestic partnership status. Atlanta, Fulton County, and Athens-Clarke County each run their own local registry. Rules vary by place. Fulton County’s registry is only for same-sex couples. Some registries need one partner to work for that city or county.

A local registry does not give any inheritance right. It has no effect on who gets your things when you die. It has no effect on your retirement money or your life insurance either. Only marriage, or papers that name your partner by name, do that.

What This Actually Means If Something Happens to You

Georgia’s inheritance law is O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. It only gives your property to a legal spouse, your children, or other close relatives. That’s the rule when you die without a will or trust. Your partner is not on that list.

Your partner inherits nothing under Georgia law unless you name them directly. Say your house, bank accounts, and retirement accounts are only in your name. If you die, they go to your parents, siblings, or children instead. That’s true even if your partner lived with you and depended on that income.

The same is true in reverse. Say your partner dies first, and everything is in their name. You have no automatic right to stay in the home. You have no automatic right to keep the accounts running either. That’s true no matter how long you lived there together.

The Assumptions That Don’t Hold Up

A few common beliefs feel true. They don’t hold up under Georgia law:

  • “We’ve been together for years, so we’re basically married.” Georgia puts no legal weight on how long a couple has lived together. Not after 1997.
  • “We share a lease and split every bill.” A shared lease and shared bills create no inheritance right on their own.
  • “We call each other husband and wife.” What you call each other does not change your legal status in Georgia.
  • “We have a joint bank account, so we’re covered.” A true joint account with survivorship rights does pass to the surviving partner. But that only protects what’s actually titled jointly. A house, a car, or a retirement account still follows Georgia’s rules for whoever is named on it. The same idea works for a house. Title it as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, and it passes straight to the surviving partner with no probate. But you have to set this up on purpose when you title the property. It does not happen just because you both live there.

In Georgia, here’s how these three outcomes differ by relationship status:

Outcome Married Valid common-law marriage or local registry Unmarried, no papers
Inherits automatically with no will Yes Yes if the marriage is valid, no for a registry alone No
Can make medical decisions for you Yes Yes if the marriage is valid, no for a registry alone No, unless named in a healthcare directive
Needs a divorce to separate Yes Yes if the marriage is valid, no for a registry alone No

Who Makes Medical Decisions for You Without a Healthcare Directive

Say you can’t speak for yourself. A hospital looks for someone with legal authority to make decisions. It does not matter who has been there for you every day. Without a signed healthcare directive, that authority defaults to your legal next of kin. That’s usually a spouse, adult child, parent, or sibling.

Your partner has no automatic right to make medical decisions for you. Your partner may not even be told what’s happening. That right only exists once you sign a healthcare directive naming them. The same gap applies to your money. You need a power of attorney naming your partner too.

How to Actually Protect Each Other

None of this needs marriage. It needs one thing: naming your partner directly, in writing, in the papers Georgia law looks at.

What This Costs and What to Expect

You and your partner are not legally one household. So each of you needs your own estate plan naming the other. It is not one shared paper between you. A revocable living trust at The Hive Law starts at $3,500 per person. That covers your trust, a pour-over will, a power of attorney, and an advance healthcare directive. Each one names your partner directly. See the full pricing for every package tier for the full breakdown.

Say you also have kids together. Then naming a guardian matters just as much as naming your partner. The full cost breakdown for a Georgia family with kids covers that piece in more detail. This is one of several common mix-ups families run into. Problems With Assuming Your Ex Automatically Loses Custody Rights If You Die in Georgia covers another one, if co-parenting after a split is also part of your life.

Getting this handled doesn’t have to be complicated. Your first call is free, about 15 minutes, and happens by phone with Shawn. If you move forward, your next step is the Design Meeting with Melissa, which is credited toward your plan.

Zero What an Unmarried Partner Inherits Without Being Named That's what Georgia law gives your partner if you die without naming them directly in a will or trust.
1997 The Year Georgia Stopped Recognizing New Common-Law Marriages Living together, no matter how long, hasn't created a legal marriage in Georgia since this year.
2 Plans What Two Unmarried Partners Each Need to Protect Each Other Since you're not legally one household, each partner needs a separate plan naming the other directly.

THE FIX

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Melissa Breyer

Melissa Breyer

Georgia Estate Planning Attorney

Melissa Breyer is a Georgia estate planning attorney who works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. She personally designs and drafts every plan at The Hive Law after the initial call. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.

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Find Out Where You Stand

You’ve been meaning to do this for a while now. That’s normal. Most families wait until something happens, then wish they hadn’t.

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