The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that common law marriage — the legal framework that has allowed longtime couples to be considered married even without a license — will no longer be recognized in the state.
The decision means South Carolina joins the vast majority of states that have already done away with the practice.
In a unanimous opinion, Justice Kaye Hearn said the ruling applies prospectively to future couples, not to those already considered married under the law.
“We have concluded the institution’s foundations have eroded with the passage of time, and the outcomes it produces are unpredictable and often convoluted,” Hearn wrote.
“Accordingly, we believe the time has come to join the overwhelming national trend and abolish it,” she concluded.
