text: what is common law marriage in the state of texas? she does not use my last name however, we live together and have been for the past 3yrs. both of our names are on a car loan, and the townhome we live in.  does this mean we are common law married. we live in dickinson, texas. not necessarily.  in texas there are two way in which you can prove an ‘informal’ marriage (which is what texas calls a common-law marriage)  1--a declaration of the marriage has been signed (yes, in texas you can actually record a declaration of informal marriage with the county clerk)  or   2--the man and woman agreed to be married and after the agreement they lived together in this state as husband and wife and there represented to others that they were married.  so have you agreed to be married and represented yourselves as married?  just both of your names being on a loan does not mean you agreed to be married or you've held yourself out to be husband and wife.  do you or have you referred to each other as husband and wife?  have you filed your tax returns as 'married’?    it sounds like you're still together.  if you intend to remain together then why not file the declaration of informal marriage?  or just get married?