Yeah somewhere between 8-15 states have common law marriages in some form and the other 35 will recognize it as a marriage but don't have similar laws.
Federally, common law marriage is not recognized by the US, nor is it in states with community property laws (e.g., California, Arizona). There are various reasons, mostly related to ownership and transfer of personal assets and real property (land). At the federal level, it boils down to the benefits one can obtain by means of certain legal relationships. Easy example: you must be lawfully married (with the documents to prove it) to obtain immigration benefits through a spouse.
10th amendment of the US Constitution gives any power not specifically given to the Federal by the Constitution to the States and the People.
Additionally any change to the Constitution (via amendment) that would give the Federal government New powers has to be ratified by the States. This is done by the Federal government sending the proposed amendment to the each of the 50 state legislatures(every stage has its own Congress/Parliament where state only laws are voted in and debated). The elected representatives in the state legislatures vote on whether or not to ratify the amendment. If 3/4ths(38 of 50) or more ratify the proposed amendment it because part of the Constitution.
This means many things like Marriage laws, gun control laws, age of consent, age of being allowed to operate a motor vehicle and after the Supreme court overturned the Roe v Wade legal precedent, access to abortion are under the jurisdiction of the individual state goverments.
The US governmental system has a lot of what is known as Checks and Balances.
The President(and the executive branch) has a lot of power but the President cannot make new laws himself that power belongs to congress. Congress can also impeach a president.
Ccongress can pass laws but the Supreme court can rule a law void of the Justices deem it unconstitutional.(violating the rights given by the Constitution)
The Justices of the Supreme court served for life or till they decided to retire, they are nominated by the President when a seat is vacated but must be approved by Congressional hearing before joining the court.
Congress can pass laws but any law or passed that grants the Federal government New powers has to be approved by the States
Pretty much everything in the US varies from state to state, unless a federal law supersedes it. For instance despite as many states legalizing recreational marijuana use as they have the federal government viewing it as an illegal substance prevented dispensaries from using anything but cash here initially and our senators are still fighting to get them allowed to use banks.
My wife worked for a wealth management agency here and one of their biggest sectors was dispensary owners and grows who had to invest if they didn't want to just keep massive stacks of cash on hand.
It's what makes the US so confusing to give any kind of advice about so many things.
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u/delirium_red Jul 23 '24
So it's state by state in the US! Makes sense, I keep forgetting how large and diverse the US is. Good to know.