Gamer’s of all sorts may have heard of the term “common law marriage” but do you know what it really means when someone asks if there is a common law relationship in ohio? To put it in perspective toward folks that love complex strategy games but may not be the most up to date on legal issues, consider your relationship with your partner as if it were a board game you were both playing together. You both agreed to the game and to play according to the rules as set by your chosen game.

You plan together, maybe achieve a deal that makes you both happy in the end, and go into the next game you end up playing together, whatever that may be. You invest in your lives together, work to get the pieces you both need to win the game, and do your best to keep each other happy enough that you aren’t summarily defeated in the current game you are playing.

Having a common law marriage in ohio is kinda like that. When it was first defined, you and your partner sat down to discuss it and agree to it.

Then you start investing in your relationship, like you both would for a quality game. You plan out how you are going to accomplish your goals together, such as making your home life better and more comfortable while finding ways to make being together better outside of the current game you are playing. In the past, obtaining a common law marriage meant that you would be considered “other half” of whoever you were with.

You didn’t need a marriage license to prove that you were living together as a couple, or to have a marriage certificate to prove how long you were together. You would have a common law marriage if you could meet the following conditions:

• You were together at the same address, for one, and you both acted as a couple toward each other as well.

It was a lot of the same sorts of rules that you would follow for a video game where you were on the same team and had to work together. In a lot of states, the common law marriage was allowed, so long as you could prove that you met those same conditions, along with having been able to pickup rights, such as community property rights.

In ohio, however, things have changed a lot more since the 1800s than in other states. In ohio, there is never any common law relationship. Once the state established licensing for marriage, it eliminated the idea of common law marriage. There is never any chance of classifying a relationship under anything similar to a common law marriage in ohio nowadays.

So overall, if someone asks if there is common law marriage in ohio, you can explain what it is but then point out that there is no chance of establishing a common law marriage. Ohio laws run a lot more modern than other states and require a licensed, legitimate marriage. In a way, it’s a little unfair for gamers, but it’s what it is.