Re: friend in need of some advice

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On 2/23/06, linzi wrote:
> i have a friend who is dating a much younger girl(legal
> age) and wants to break it off. he is scared that she will
> charge him with stachatory rape. and they have been
> together for a year. so they are common law. can she take
> him to court and get half of everything he has? also he is
> still married going through a seperation

I'm confused - first you say she is "legal" then you say he
fears being charged with statutory rape. Either she is (and
was) over the age of consent, or not.

Victims don't charge people with crimes - only the state
(prosecutor) can do that. Assuming she was under the age of
consent when the relationship started, and other elements of
the crime were satisfied (e.g. he was over a certain age -
elements vary by state) then she can make a complaint to the
police, and the D.A. can decide if he wants to follow up on
it. You didn't mention the state involved or their ages, so
I can't point you to the statute for that state.

As far as common law marriage, most people have little
understanding of the reality. Common law marriage only
exists in a handful of states, and each have their own
requirements - but none of them revolve around simply living
together for a certain length of time. In every instance,
the couple needs to hold themselves out as married. And
since you openly stated he is already married, I'm assuming
she knows this and realizes she therefore cannot be and is not
married to him. E.g., no common law marriage.

On the other hand, some states do recognize a limited right
of recovery known as "palimony," but I'm not aware of any
instances where a settement was established for a couple
living together for only a year.

For what it's worth, he doesn't sound like anyone's hero.
he has a wife already and is having sex and living with
another minor (presumably). The only reason he is still
involved with the girl is because he's afraid of legal or
economic consequences. What a catch!

Common Law Marriage facts and fiction