Actual marriage is an unregistered union of two people living together and sharing a household. In simple words - cohabitation. Such a union does not give rise to mutual rights and obligations of spouses. Their relations are regulated not by family but by civil law. Children born in such a union must be recognized by their father and entered into the certificate only from his written application, otherwise the woman will be a single mother. In more detail about all the features of the actual marriage will be discussed in this article.
the main thing
Actual marriage is an unofficial union of two people living together, having a common life and leading a common household. In other words, this is just cohabitation, which is regulated only by civil law. Actual marriage is a union that is unregistered in the manner prescribed by law; therefore, it does not give rise to family relationships. People living together, in this case, are completely free and independent of each other. For this reason, it is chosen by many citizens who do not want to be bound by the bonds of an official marriage.
Characteristic
Despite the fact that people in an actual marriage live together, have a joint household and even raise common children, they are still considered free citizens, independent of each other. For a man it is very convenient. At one time he has a family and a wife, but is legally considered single and may marry another girl.
In our state, actual marriage is the usual cohabitation of two people, which is not regulated by the norms of family law. Only children born in such a union are eligible for maintenance from their dad if the latter recognizes paternity.
Nevertheless, in Russia every year there are more and more such marriages. Because many young people do not want to take responsibility and formalize their relationship with the second half.
Cohabitation
If a legal marriage is registered at the registry office, then the actual one does not require compliance with such formalities. People just converge and begin to live together in the same territory, calling their union a family. Nevertheless, they do not become a full-fledged unit of society.
The actual, civil marriage of a man and a woman is not regulated by the norms of the RF IC and, moreover, does not give rise to mutual rights and obligations of spouses. Their relationship can be called mutual partnership. People can live together for a long time, have common property and joint children, but from the point of view of the law they will not be a family. And this is despite the fact that other citizens consider them to be spouses.
Termination
From the moment when people disperse and begin to live in a separate living space, the actual marriage ceases to exist. In other words, a man and a woman no longer have a joint household and do not have a common budget. The actual divorce in this case occurs at a time when one of the spouses no longer wants to be with the other and moves to a new place of residence. If people from such a union have children, then their fate is decided in accordance with family law. Therefore, if a common- law husband, who is the father of their common child, has left his wife, he is obliged to pay child support for the maintenance of his child.
The rights of children born in an official marriage, and babies born as a result of simple cohabitation of mom and dad, are equal to each other and are enshrined in the RF IC.
As it was before
The concept of actual marriage was known in Russia in Soviet times. It was then, in the 20s, such a union of a man and a woman was recognized by family law. In addition, officially registered marriages even with those people who were considered missing. That was until 1944.
The Code of Laws on Marriage, Family, and Custody, adopted in 1926, equated the actual union of a woman with a man to official marriage. This was necessary in order to protect the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity and the rights of their children. Nevertheless, when dividing the common property, it was necessary to prove to the judicial authority the fact that it was really a “marriage”, and not a connection. For this, witnesses were invited, correspondence and other documents were examined.
In 1944, according to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, unofficial marital relations lost their force. Civil spouses were invited to form their union in the manner prescribed by law. It was also necessary to indicate the period of marriage before the registration of marriage.
The situation of children
Babies born in an actual marriage have the same rights as those born in an official union. But for this it is necessary that the father of the child acknowledge his paternity and write a statement to the registry office. Otherwise, the mother of the baby will be considered a single mother, because the marriage of people has not been officially registered.
In practice, situations very often occur when women have to prove the paternity of “civilian” husbands in a court of law in order to receive at least some money from them to support children. Such cases are far from unique. While in the official union, the woman’s husband automatically becomes the child’s dad, even when the baby was born within 300 days after the divorce.
Due to such problems that may arise in the future, many women are reluctant to enter into actual marriage. Children born in an informal union are deprived of the opportunity to live in a full-fledged family and receive support from the pope, especially if the latter was not a very decent person and refused to acknowledge and formalize his paternity.
Confession
Actual marriage has certain characteristics. In this case, people should live together as a family, have a common life, budget, children and conduct a joint household. In addition, over the years lived together, people acquire things and values, real estate.
Accordingly, the recognition of the marriage actual occurs if:
- a man and a woman share a common household and have a joint budget;
- Citizens live together as legal spouses.
However, people do not have to have children. Indeed, many citizens living in a registered marriage, for various reasons, do not try to continue their family.
Property
What to do with common valuable things if a man and a woman decide to end their informal relationship and break up? This question is asked by many people who find themselves in a similar situation. After all, an informal union of two people is an actual marriage. The division of property in this case will be carried out in accordance with the norms of civil law, and not family. In addition, each of the spouses will have to prove their right to the thing and the fact of its acquisition. If property purchased during a legal marriage is considered joint property of the husband and wife, then during the period of cohabitation it belongs only to the person on whom it is registered.
Example
The young people met and after some time decided to live together. They were not in a hurry to formalize the relationship. Nevertheless, during the time of the actual cohabitation, the man purchased with the money of his common-law spouse a new car, which he designed for himself. Two years later, the couple broke up, and the ex-wife decided that she had every right to return half the cost of the car. The man was against it. She could not prove the fact that the woman handed him the money, because she did not have any evidence (receipts, etc.). Accordingly, the car remained with the former civil husband, because according to the documents he is its owner.
Distinctive features
Legal and factual marriage have certain similarities. They are manifested in the fact that in the first and second cases, people live together, maintain a common household and have a joint budget. But the similarity ends here. Now let’s list the differences. At the moment when children are born in a legal marriage, they are automatically given the name and patronymic of their dad. What can not be said about the child who was born in an unregistered union. After all, the fact of his origin from a civil husband of a mother must be officially confirmed by the registry office, and for this the latter must write a statement. If this does not happen, the woman is recognized as a single mother. She can prove paternity only in court.
Property acquired during an official union is the joint property of the spouses, and upon divorce it will be divided in half. But things purchased during the period of actual marriage are considered the property of the person who purchased them.
What's better
Many women want to be just legal wives and therefore do not even allow themselves to think about living with a man without registering a marriage. Nevertheless, some representatives of the fair sex believe that at first you can do without formalizing the relationship. Opinions on this subject are always divided. Of course, most women want to get married, so for them the best solution is to immediately form a relationship than to live without registration and not have any rights. Men think a little differently, especially since the stamp in the passport has not kept any of them with their unloved partner. They do not want to immediately consolidate an alliance with a woman and lose their freedom, preferring first to "live together and test their feelings."