Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
We Prepare Documents - FAST AND AFFORDABLE
The Law Offices of T. Barrett Wood, PC, in a joint venture with the Law Office of Samuel E. Sprowles, provides clients with fast and affordable legal documents, including, but not limited to, the following:
· Wills starting at $199***
· Statutory Power of Attorney $50***
· Medical Power of Attorney and HIPAA release $65***
· Directive to Physician $50***
· All document listed above, Single Person $300
· All documents listed above, Married Couple $500
· Deeds starting at $200
· Promissory Notes starting at $150
· Deeds of Trust starting at $200
· Limited Liability Companies starting at $1000 (including Secretary of State filing fee)
The above listed prices are subject to increase based on the complexity of the client request. Price includes the listed document and a thirty minute consultation with a licensed attorney.
***Ready to get started? Simply request a worksheet from tracy@bwoodlaw.com or by calling Tracy at 915.533.1133, fill it out to best of your ability along with the included checklist and either e-mail the information to tracy@bwoodlaw.com or fax it to (915) 532-0904, Attn: Tracy. Though response time varies, inquiries typically receive responses within 24-48 hours.
Responding to an ad you've seen? Make sure to mention it when you contact us!
· Wills starting at $199***
· Statutory Power of Attorney $50***
· Medical Power of Attorney and HIPAA release $65***
· Directive to Physician $50***
· All document listed above, Single Person $300
· All documents listed above, Married Couple $500
· Deeds starting at $200
· Promissory Notes starting at $150
· Deeds of Trust starting at $200
· Limited Liability Companies starting at $1000 (including Secretary of State filing fee)
The above listed prices are subject to increase based on the complexity of the client request. Price includes the listed document and a thirty minute consultation with a licensed attorney.
***Ready to get started? Simply request a worksheet from tracy@bwoodlaw.com or by calling Tracy at 915.533.1133, fill it out to best of your ability along with the included checklist and either e-mail the information to tracy@bwoodlaw.com or fax it to (915) 532-0904, Attn: Tracy. Though response time varies, inquiries typically receive responses within 24-48 hours.
Responding to an ad you've seen? Make sure to mention it when you contact us!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Common Law Marriage (as featured in August 2008 edition of El Paso Magazine)
If I’ve lived with my girlfriend for six months…are we married??
By: T. Barrett Wood,
Law Offices of T. Barrett Wood, PC
When people hear that I am an attorney, I am frequently asked for a quick legal opinion on something a person has heard or is concerned about in their lives. Often this request has to do with the legal meaning or impact of a live-in arrangement with a significant other. Many people live under the impression that 1) common law marriage is a universally accepted concept, and 2) there is an exact rule or formula that determines the existence or non-existence of a common-law marriage. This discussion is designed to address those misconceptions, particularly with regard to Texas and New Mexico law. The following is a brief overview and by no means intended to be interpreted as a full analysis or legal advice.
By: T. Barrett Wood,
Law Offices of T. Barrett Wood, PC
When people hear that I am an attorney, I am frequently asked for a quick legal opinion on something a person has heard or is concerned about in their lives. Often this request has to do with the legal meaning or impact of a live-in arrangement with a significant other. Many people live under the impression that 1) common law marriage is a universally accepted concept, and 2) there is an exact rule or formula that determines the existence or non-existence of a common-law marriage. This discussion is designed to address those misconceptions, particularly with regard to Texas and New Mexico law. The following is a brief overview and by no means intended to be interpreted as a full analysis or legal advice.
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE
IS NOT AS “COMMON” AS YOU THINK
NEW MEXICO
The idea of a common law marriage (often referred to as an informal marriage) is not accepted by every state in the Union. One immediate (and local) example is the State of New Mexico. If you reside in New Mexico, it does not matter how long you have lived with another person or how often you call them your husband or wife, a marriage only exists if it has been formally entered into by contract and solemnized before an appropriate official. The law has been interpreted further to mean that the required civil contract requires a [marriage] license to be valid. Finally, this civil contract not only has to be licensed, but is inherently a contract in which the public is interested and to which the state is a party.
In sum, in order to realize the legal consequences of a marriage in New Mexico you must have a marriage license and have the marriage appropriately legitimized by an appropriate authority.
TEXAS
The State of Texas does recognize informal marriages. Thus, if your relationship satisfies the elements of the definition of an informal marriage, you can have that marriage recognized in Texas. However, there is only one way to clearly have a common law marriage: both parties executing a document known as Declaration and Registration of an Informal Marriage. If this does not take place, it becomes a much murkier issue. Which leads us to the inevitable question….
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO HAVE A
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE IN TEXAS?
If you and your potential common-law husband/wife have not executed the Declaration and Registration of an Informal Marriage, it then becomes a breakdown of the circumstances involved in your relationship. Three things must all exist for there to be a valid common-law marriage in Texas. They are:
1) An agreement to presently be married;
2) Cohabitation; and
3) “Holding Out” to the public as husband and wife.
AGREEMENT
The agreement element of a common-law marriage can be satisfied with an express (i.e. written or clear, oral coming together) or implied (so obvious from the circumstances that a contract existed) agreement. Naturally, couples will not always sit down and have a frank, clear discussion that makes it explicitly apparent to both that they are now husband and wife. It is even less likely that a couple will sit down and draw up a contract that talks about how they will, from this point forward, be man and wife. Because of the frequent lack of these situations, the existence of a common law marriage sometimes has to be decided by a court.
It should be noted that the non-existence of a clear agreement will not entirely defeat a common law marriage in Texas. Texas cases will suggest that if the other two factors are clear enough, the agreement can be implied on that basis alone. Effectively, under the right conditions, two out of three is just as good as three out of three.
It is also important to note that it must be a present, permanent agreement to be married. If you simply agree that you will get married some day, this is probably not enough.
COHABITATION
In my experience, this element causes the greatest amount of confusion and thus was the inspiration for the title to this discussion. A very regular false impression people have is that if you are living with your significant other for “X” amount of time, you are automatically married by law. In fact, there has been a wide variety of lengths of cohabitation for couples determined to be both common law marriages and non-marriages. There are examples in Texas cases of people living together for a weekend and ruled to be a valid common-law marriage and yet there are other cases of people living together for over ten years and still declared a non-marriage.
The import of cohabitation is not in its duration but instead lies in: a) whether or not people actually lived together, and b) if so, what was their behavior when they did?
If you live together for years but there is no reason for anyone around you or in the community to believe you are married, you most likely do not qualify as a common law marriage. Thus, cohabitation on its own does not establish a common law marriage. You must have both of the other two elements. Which leads us to the final element…
“HOLDING OUT”
In order for a relationship to be declared a common-law marriage, the parties must have represented to others that they were husband and wife. This can be done in a number of ways. In much the way that a certain period of time does not exist to define a common law marriage, there is not one factor that will on its own result in a common law marriage. Some examples of representations of intent to be married are the raising of a family together, purchasing property or entering into loan arrangements together, joint tax returns, and joint bank accounts. Referring to the other as husband or wife can also be evidence of a common-law marriage but merely an occasional reference to a the person you live with as your spouse is most likely not enough by itself for purposes of Texas law.
SUMMARY
It would probably be easier to simply set up a clear test (like the 6 month rule contemplated above) but you can imagine the pitfalls and disputes that rule would immediately cause. This is especially true in light of the increased frequency with which couples are moving in together before marriage. The alternative is the current system where you have to take each relationship on a case by case basis, considering many of the circumstances of the couple’s behavior and whether or not those circumstances seem to fit, or not fit, into the established elements.
If you have any questions on this or other family-law related matter, feel free to contact Mr. Wood using any of the following methods:
Law Offices of T. Barrett Wood, PC
303 Texas Avenue, Ninth Floor
El Paso, Texas 79901
P: 915.533.1133
F: 915.532.0904
http://www.bwoodlaw.com/
IS NOT AS “COMMON” AS YOU THINK
NEW MEXICO
The idea of a common law marriage (often referred to as an informal marriage) is not accepted by every state in the Union. One immediate (and local) example is the State of New Mexico. If you reside in New Mexico, it does not matter how long you have lived with another person or how often you call them your husband or wife, a marriage only exists if it has been formally entered into by contract and solemnized before an appropriate official. The law has been interpreted further to mean that the required civil contract requires a [marriage] license to be valid. Finally, this civil contract not only has to be licensed, but is inherently a contract in which the public is interested and to which the state is a party.
In sum, in order to realize the legal consequences of a marriage in New Mexico you must have a marriage license and have the marriage appropriately legitimized by an appropriate authority.
TEXAS
The State of Texas does recognize informal marriages. Thus, if your relationship satisfies the elements of the definition of an informal marriage, you can have that marriage recognized in Texas. However, there is only one way to clearly have a common law marriage: both parties executing a document known as Declaration and Registration of an Informal Marriage. If this does not take place, it becomes a much murkier issue. Which leads us to the inevitable question….
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO HAVE A
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE IN TEXAS?
If you and your potential common-law husband/wife have not executed the Declaration and Registration of an Informal Marriage, it then becomes a breakdown of the circumstances involved in your relationship. Three things must all exist for there to be a valid common-law marriage in Texas. They are:
1) An agreement to presently be married;
2) Cohabitation; and
3) “Holding Out” to the public as husband and wife.
AGREEMENT
The agreement element of a common-law marriage can be satisfied with an express (i.e. written or clear, oral coming together) or implied (so obvious from the circumstances that a contract existed) agreement. Naturally, couples will not always sit down and have a frank, clear discussion that makes it explicitly apparent to both that they are now husband and wife. It is even less likely that a couple will sit down and draw up a contract that talks about how they will, from this point forward, be man and wife. Because of the frequent lack of these situations, the existence of a common law marriage sometimes has to be decided by a court.
It should be noted that the non-existence of a clear agreement will not entirely defeat a common law marriage in Texas. Texas cases will suggest that if the other two factors are clear enough, the agreement can be implied on that basis alone. Effectively, under the right conditions, two out of three is just as good as three out of three.
It is also important to note that it must be a present, permanent agreement to be married. If you simply agree that you will get married some day, this is probably not enough.
COHABITATION
In my experience, this element causes the greatest amount of confusion and thus was the inspiration for the title to this discussion. A very regular false impression people have is that if you are living with your significant other for “X” amount of time, you are automatically married by law. In fact, there has been a wide variety of lengths of cohabitation for couples determined to be both common law marriages and non-marriages. There are examples in Texas cases of people living together for a weekend and ruled to be a valid common-law marriage and yet there are other cases of people living together for over ten years and still declared a non-marriage.
The import of cohabitation is not in its duration but instead lies in: a) whether or not people actually lived together, and b) if so, what was their behavior when they did?
If you live together for years but there is no reason for anyone around you or in the community to believe you are married, you most likely do not qualify as a common law marriage. Thus, cohabitation on its own does not establish a common law marriage. You must have both of the other two elements. Which leads us to the final element…
“HOLDING OUT”
In order for a relationship to be declared a common-law marriage, the parties must have represented to others that they were husband and wife. This can be done in a number of ways. In much the way that a certain period of time does not exist to define a common law marriage, there is not one factor that will on its own result in a common law marriage. Some examples of representations of intent to be married are the raising of a family together, purchasing property or entering into loan arrangements together, joint tax returns, and joint bank accounts. Referring to the other as husband or wife can also be evidence of a common-law marriage but merely an occasional reference to a the person you live with as your spouse is most likely not enough by itself for purposes of Texas law.
SUMMARY
It would probably be easier to simply set up a clear test (like the 6 month rule contemplated above) but you can imagine the pitfalls and disputes that rule would immediately cause. This is especially true in light of the increased frequency with which couples are moving in together before marriage. The alternative is the current system where you have to take each relationship on a case by case basis, considering many of the circumstances of the couple’s behavior and whether or not those circumstances seem to fit, or not fit, into the established elements.
If you have any questions on this or other family-law related matter, feel free to contact Mr. Wood using any of the following methods:
Law Offices of T. Barrett Wood, PC
303 Texas Avenue, Ninth Floor
El Paso, Texas 79901
P: 915.533.1133
F: 915.532.0904
http://www.bwoodlaw.com/
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Contact Information
Those wishing to contact the Law Offices of T. Barrett Wood, PC may do so using any of the following methods:
303 Texas Avenue, Ninth Floor
El Paso, Texas 79901
www.bwoodlaw.com
P: 915.533.1133
F: 915.532.0904
Or you may e-mail my assistant Tracy at: tracy@bwoodlaw.com
303 Texas Avenue, Ninth Floor
El Paso, Texas 79901
www.bwoodlaw.com
P: 915.533.1133
F: 915.532.0904
Or you may e-mail my assistant Tracy at: tracy@bwoodlaw.com
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