In some divorce actions, one spouse may find it advantageous to deny his or her marriage when it comes to distribution of property. For example, he may not wish to share his pension.

The absence of outside certification is one reason why most states no longer recognize common law marriage.

Sometimes when a couple marry as a common law husband and wife, one of the spouses (usually the husband) will later maintain that the marriage never happened. This leaves the other spouse (usually the wife) with the problem of proving that it did. She must establish to a court’s satisfaction that she and her husband presented themselves to the world as a married couple.

Obviously, a marriage certificate would have made it easier.

Protocols vary with jurisdictions, but normally a clergyman or official returns the marriage license to a county where the marriage happened and a certification is mailed in a few days.

See also Common Law Marriage.

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