Also known as: de jure spouses · legal spouse
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A spouse joined by a marriage that satisfies every statutory requirement for validity. The status confers all rights and obligations of marriage without qualification or limitation arising from defects in form or ceremony.
Dorothy Daniels and Demetrius Douglas obtained a marriage license and participated in a ceremony performed by an authorized officiant. After five years Dorothy petitioned for maintenance upon separation. The court treated Dorothy as a de jure spouse and awarded maintenance under the statutory guidelines applicable to legal marriages.
Daniel Diaz married Devon Drake in a licensed ceremony. Years later Daniel began cohabiting with Dylan Duffy who believed the second relationship created a valid marriage. Upon Daniel's death the court recognized Devon as the de jure spouse and apportioned property between Devon and Dylan under the statute governing multiple claimants.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A de jure spouse holds that status because the marriage met every legal formality from the outset. A putative spouse acquires similar rights only through good-faith cohabitation under a defective ceremony and loses the status upon learning of the defect.
No. A limited separation order that expressly preserves the marriage does not terminate spousal status. The surviving spouse remains entitled to the statutory intestate share.
Yes. The statute directs the court to apportion maintenance and property among a legal spouse and any putative spouses according to the circumstances and the interests of justice rather than allowing automatic supersession.
…first time the civil law concept of the putative spouse. The Act provides that an unmarried person may acquire the rights of a legal spouse only if he goes through a marriage ceremony and cohabits with another in the good-faith belief that he is validly married. When he learns that the marriage is not valid his status as a…