Also known as: holding out provision · holding-out provisions · holding out
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A public representation by two people that they are married and living together as spouses. This element, together with consent and cohabitation, establishes a common law marriage when all requirements are met.
Henry Harrison and Hazel Hoffman moved in together after a private ceremony. They opened a joint bank account, used the same last name on official documents, and introduced themselves as spouses at community events. When a dispute later arose over property rights, the court found that their public conduct satisfied the holding-out requirement and created a valid common law marriage.
Hunter Hughes lived with a child for several years and consistently presented the child as his own to family, schools, and medical providers. After the relationship with the biological parent ended, a court applied the holding-out principle to recognize Hunter as a presumed parent entitled to custody rights.
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Public acts such as using a common last name, maintaining a joint bank account, and telling community members that the parties consider themselves married meet the requirement. No minimum duration is needed if consent, cohabitation, and holding out are all present.
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Yes. When parties tell personal friends they are merely partners and keep separate finances, a court may find the holding-out element unsatisfied even if they appear as spouses in limited professional settings.
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A person who receives a child into the home and openly holds the child out as his or her own can be presumed a parent under statutes modeled on the Uniform Parentage Act, even without a biological or adoptive tie.
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…out as her natural children. (§ 7611, subd. (d).) The legal presumption of fatherhood or motherhood created by receiving and holding out the child as one’s natural child “may be rebutted in an appropriate action only by clear and convincing evidence.” (§ 7612, subd. (a).) We concluded in Nicholas H. , supra, 28 Cal.4th 56,…