Question #51: If a couple live together for a number of years and then formally marry and then divorce after one year of marriage, is the marital property calculated for the entire period in which their living together for only for one year which they had a formal licensed?

Answer: Marital property is defined as property acquired by either of the parties during the course of the marriage having a marriage license is prima facie evidence of the marriage; whether the period in which the couple live together without a formal license is considered “during the course of the marriage” will depend on the circumstances involved including whether the carpal help themselves out to the public as being married, whether they entered into some informal marriage ceremony or religious errand Monday, eccentric.