Montana Marriage Laws | § 40-1-404

Montana Code Annotated 40-1-404

Putative spouse.

A person who has cohabited with another to whom the person is not legally married in the good faith belief that the person was married to that person is a putative spouse until knowledge of the fact that the person is not legally married terminates that status and prevents acquisition of further rights. A putative spouse acquires the rights conferred upon a legal spouse, including the right to maintenance following termination of that status, whether or not the marriage is prohibited, as provided in 40-1-401, or declared invalid, as provided in 40-1-402. If there is a legal spouse or other putative spouses, rights acquired by a putative spouse do not supersede the rights of the legal spouse or those acquired by other putative spouses, but the court shall apportion property, maintenance, and support rights among the claimants as appropriate in the circumstances and in the interests of justice.

En. 48-312 by Sec. 12, Ch. 536, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 48-312; amd. Sec. 1560, Ch. 56, L. 2009.

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More Montana Marriage Laws

§ 40-1-301 Solemnization and registration.
§ 40-1-105 Application of Montana Rules of Civil Procedure.
§ 40-1-107 Form of application, license, marriage certificate, and consent.
§ 40-1-213 Judicial approval.
§ 40-1-210 No license to be issued when applicants under influence of liquor or drug.
§ 40-1-321 Registration of marriage.
§ 40-1-401 Prohibited marriages -- contracts.
§ 40-1-402 Declaration of invalidity.
§ 40-1-104 Application.
§ 40-1-101 Purposes.
§ 40-1-102 Uniformity of application and construction.
§ 40-1-103 Formalities.
§ 40-1-106 Parts of code not applicable.
§ 40-1-201 License application.
§ 40-1-202 License issuance
§ 40-1-203 Proof of age.
§ 40-1-212 Effective period of license.
§ 40-1-311 Declaration of marriage without solemnization.
§ 40-1-312 Persons who may prepare declaration of marriage.
§ 40-1-313 Penalty.
§ 40-1-322 Certificate and copy presumptive evidence.
§ 40-1-323 Proof of solemnized marriage when no record.
§ 40-1-324 Declaration to be acknowledged and recorded.
§ 40-1-403 Validity of common-law marriage.
§ 40-1-404 Putative spouse.