Also known as: putative marriages · putative spouse
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A marital union solemnized in due form by one or both parties but invalid due to a legal defect. A person who cohabits under a good-faith belief that the union is valid acquires the rights of a legal spouse, including maintenance, until actual knowledge of the defect terminates the status and cuts off further rights.
Dana and Leo obtained a marriage certificate after an overnight chapel ceremony in Las Vegas and then cohabited as spouses for four years while sharing finances. After Leo died, the insurer discovered that the officiant's license had been revoked months earlier. Dana had never learned of the revocation, so the court treated her as a putative spouse entitled to survivor benefits and maintenance rights on the same footing as a legal spouse.
William and Lee participated in a union hall ceremony performed by an officiant they believed retained full authority. They cohabited for several years, filed joint tax returns, and held themselves out as spouses. Union newsletters and coworker comments later indicated the officiant lacked credentials, yet William made no inquiry until after a workplace injury. The court found that William's good-faith belief had already terminated, so he could not claim maintenance as a putative spouse.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Colin and Terry exchanged vows in a publicized halftime ceremony at a charity game after team executives assured them the event would make their union legally official. They cohabited in a team-provided condominium and appeared as spouses at franchise events. Internal emails described the event as non-binding entertainment, and the couple maintained separate finances while telling friends they were only partners. The court held that the private disclaimers undermined any sustained good-faith belief, denying Colin putative-spouse rights to maintenance and property division.
Putative spouse status continues only while the good-faith belief in a valid marriage persists. Actual knowledge of the legal defect terminates the status and prevents acquisition of any further rights from that point forward.
Supporting sources
No. The doctrine turns on the individual claimant's own good-faith belief that a valid marriage existed. It does not require that both parties held the same belief or that the belief was mutual.
Supporting sources
Yes. A putative spouse acquires the same rights as a legal spouse, including the right to maintenance following termination of the status, even when the underlying marriage is void or voidable.
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No. A licensing defect is precisely the kind of hidden flaw the doctrine addresses. A claimant who participated in a ceremony, obtained a certificate, and cohabited without learning of the defect retains putative spouse status and the associated rights.
Supporting sources
…the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the legislature adopted for the 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…