October 7, 2019  – Sherman & Howard family law attorney Jordan Fox was quoted by Law Week Colorado regarding the standards to apply in determining whether a common law marriage existed between the members of a same-sex couple. The article, “Supreme Court to Clarify Common Law Marriage for Same-Sex Couples,” discusses In re the Marriage of Edi Hogsett and Marcia Neale, which the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to hear to decide how to analyze whether a same-sex couple has a common law marriage.

The issue is whether applying the same standards to same-sex couples as those applied to traditional couples in the context of common law marriage could have a discriminatory effect.

Jordan explains the conundrum that the case presents, noting that finding a common law marriage existed for the same-sex couple would necessitate looking for evidence of intent to have a relationship that wasn’t legally recognized before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, which first established the right of same-sex couples to marry.