According to Unmarried Equality, common law marriages offer many of the same rights as ... According to The Knot website, each state and D.C. may have some specific requirements as well.

Only nine states are classified as community property states. Five other states—Alaska, Florida, Kentucky, South Dakota, and Tennessee—have ... during a marriage. In a common law state ...

In common law states, assets generally belong to the spouse who acquired them unless they are jointly owned. These rules determine how property and debts are divided when a marriage ends.