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.

By Melissa Breyer, Esq. 9 min read

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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 that was validly formed in another state under that state’s law. 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 and bank accounts are only in your name, with no beneficiary named. 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 Only if no relative is available, 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 comes last, after every relative the law lists. Your partner may not even be told what’s happening. A healthcare directive naming your partner puts your partner first. 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 Shawn and 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

Name Each Other in a Will or Trust

A will or trust is what controls who inherits your property. Georgia law leaves an unmarried partner out unless you name them. Name your partner in yours.

Set Up a Financial Power of Attorney

A financial power of attorney gives your partner the legal authority to handle your finances if you can't, without a court process.

Set Up a Healthcare Directive

A healthcare directive names your partner as the person who can make medical decisions for you and be kept informed if you're incapacitated.

Update Every Beneficiary Form

Life insurance and IRAs go to the person named on the form. They do not pass by your will. Check each form and make sure it names your partner.

Talk to Each Other About Shared Property

A cohabitation agreement can spell out who owns what if the relationship ends or one partner dies. This is usually handled separately from an estate plan, often by a family law attorney.

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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Frequently Asked Questions

Georgia stopped allowing new common-law marriages on January 1, 1997. A marriage formed before that date still counts. So does one that was validly formed in another state under that state’s law. Living together in Georgia after 1996 does not create a marriage, no matter how long.

A common-law marriage that was legal in the state where you formed it usually stays valid after you move to Georgia. The key question is whether it was formed the right way under that other state’s rules. Georgia’s 1997 cutoff does not apply to a marriage formed somewhere else.

Living together does not create a marriage in Georgia, no matter how long, and it does not give your partner any inheritance right. Two kinds of common-law marriage still count: one formed in Georgia before January 1, 1997, and one validly formed in another state under that state’s law. Without one of those, only a legal marriage, or papers naming your partner, create those rights.

Atlanta offers a local domestic partner registry. It is a city record, not a marriage. It creates no inheritance right. It has no effect on who gets your things when you die.

For an unmarried couple, a house or bank account that is only in one partner’s name, with no beneficiary named on it, passes under that person’s will. With no will, it follows Georgia’s intestacy law. That law gives it to a legal spouse and relatives, not to an unmarried partner. The partner gets that property if the will names them, if it was moved into a trust that names them, or if the account itself names them as beneficiary.

An unmarried partner is last in line to make medical choices for you in Georgia. With no healthcare directive, the law turns first to a legal spouse, then your adult children, parents, brothers and sisters, and other relatives. Your partner can step in only as an “adult friend,” and only if none of them is there to decide. A healthcare directive naming your partner puts your partner first.

Two partners in Georgia each need their own estate plan. You are not legally one household. Each set of papers must name the other partner by name, as beneficiary, as agent, and as the person who can make health decisions.

Four papers protect an unmarried couple in Georgia. The first is a will or trust that names your partner by name. The second is a power of attorney. The third is a healthcare directive. The fourth is updated beneficiary forms. These cover your life insurance and retirement accounts. A cohabitation agreement can also cover shared property. That is usually a separate paper.

A valid common-law marriage counts as a real marriage under Georgia law. Ending it takes a formal divorce, the same as any other marriage. A Georgia court still has to divide property, decide support, and settle custody. Simply moving out does not end it.

A Georgia common-law marriage from before 1997 needs three things to be true. Both people had to be legally able to marry, meaning of age and not married to someone else. Both had to agree to live together as a married couple, not just date. And they had to act on it by living together as a married couple. All three had to be true at the same time. Telling others you were married helps prove it. A marriage formed in another state is judged by that state’s rules instead.

A valid common-law marriage changes two things: your taxes and your Social Security. The government treats your marriage like any other marriage. You can file taxes together. Your partner may also get Social Security money if you die first. This only counts if your marriage is truly valid.

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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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