In re Estate of Hunsaker
Supreme Court of Montana
968 P.2d 281 (Mont. 1998)
Anne Barnett (plaintiff), while still married to another man, met Maurice Hunsaker in 1985; after separating from her husband, Maurice proposed on Christmas Day 1986 with an engagement ring and matching wedding ring, though Anne wore only the engagement ring since they never had a formal ceremony. After Anne's divorce finalized in 1987, she and Maurice moved in together in 1987, displayed a "Hunsakers" sign outside their home, recorded an answering-machine message identifying it as "the Hunsaker residence," and had a grandfather clock's pendulum engraved with an "H" flanked by "M" and "A" — though they kept separate bank accounts and filed taxes as single individuals. After Maurice's death in 1996, Anne petitioned to be named personal representative of his estate, testifying she felt married to him and believed he felt married to her too; conflicting witness testimony existed on whether they were truly husband and wife, and the district court found Anne hadn't proven a common-law marriage.
Whether a couple's nine years of cohabitation, mutual subjective belief in being married, and consistent public representations as a married couple establish a valid common-law marriage, despite never having a formal wedding ceremony and maintaining separate finances.