Opinion ID: 1774420
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Family Code Section 1.91

Text: When Mrs. Ledford and Mrs. Fuentes filed suit, section 1.91 provided that: (a) In any judicial, administrative, or other proceeding, the marriage of a man and woman may be proved by evidence that: (1) a declaration of their marriage has been executed under Section 1.92 of this code; or (2) they agreed to be married, and after the agreement they lived together in this state as husband and wife, and they represented to others that they were married. (b) A proceeding in which a marriage is to be proved under this section must be commenced not later than one year after the date on which the relationship ended or not later than one year after September 1, 1989, whichever is later. TEX. FAM.CODE § 1.91(b). Legislative history shows that section 1.91(b)'s one year time limit was a compromise alternative to completely abrogating common-law marriages in Texas. See Russell v. Russell, 865 S.W.2d 929, 932 (Tex. 1993). The Texas Legislature has had a long history of grudging tolerance of commonlaw marriages. See Russell, 865 S.W.2d at 931. Thus, the Legislature intended for section 1.91(b) to strictly limit parties' ability to prove a common law marriage. See Riley v. State, 849 S.W.2d 901, 903 (Tex. AppAustin 1993, pet. ref'd).