Putative Marriage

A putative marriage is a special situation in which a marriage that seems to be valid actually is not. In order for a marriage to be considered putative, it must have been entered into in good faith by at least one of the spouses. However, unlike common-law or ceremonial marriages in which the couple is actually married, people in a putative marriage are not considered to be legally married.

Because the putative spouse believes he is in a legitimate marriage, the law grants him the legal rights of a spouse until he realizes that he is not legally married. This means that the putative spouse can sue for property division and alimony following the dissolution of the putative marriage.

If you have discovered that you are in a putative marriage and want to know your legal options, contact the San Jose divorce attorneys of the Law Office of Daniel Jensen today by calling 408-296-4100.

California Law and Putative Marriage

In California, a putative spouse is granted the rights of marriage until she learns that her husband cannot be legally married to her. Even though technically the woman was never married to the man, she can seek property division and alimony payments the same as any wife.

When Is a Marriage Putative?

In order to better understand putative marriage, consider the following example: a woman marries a man under the belief that he is legally allowed to marry her. However, the man has an existing wife whom he knows he has not divorced, but he goes along with the second marriage anyway. In this situation, the woman entered the marriage in good faith and is therefore a putative spouse until she realizes that the marriage is invalid, and can seek alimony and property.

If, however, the man believed that he had been granted a divorce by his former wife, and the divorce had not in fact taken place, a putative marriage does not exist.

Contact Us

If you learn that your marriage is not valid, you may have legal rights to seek alimony and property division. Contact the San Jose divorce lawyer, Daniel Jensen, today by calling 408-296-4100.