Q: my husband died this past saturday and he owns a house but his common law wife is claiming it.
I have proof that i have been his wife since 1964. she is stating
that she is his wife. There is no proof. what do i do?
A:
Since the law makes it illegal to be married to more than one person, the claim of a "common law" spouse seems unlikely to prevail if there has been no intervening divorce. Generally a marriage certificate will establish marriage.
Keep in mind that being a spouse does not automatically entitle someone to the full estate - if the person died with a Will, the Will generally controls although Maryland law gives rights to a spouse even if the Will says nothing. If the person died without a Will, the laws of intestate succession say who inherits (generally the spouse gets 1/2 if the person who died had either surviving children or surviving parent).
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