my ex is trying to divorce me, we weren't married

Yup, he's an idiot. Any lawyer that takes this case is an idiot too.

Probably, but how on earth did you file taxes together without presenting yourselves as married? You probably should be getting in touch with a lawyer, especially if you have been filing taxes as Married, Filing Separately.

Common law. In Canada if a man and a woman live together for 6 months they have to file together. Once you separate and can prove it, the tax breaks end.

She says common law marriages don't exist since 1998, I believe. On the US tax returns you declare your filing status as Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Single, or Head of Household. We don't get to just choose which one offers the best tax advantage.

Oklahoma used to recognize common law marriage. They never recognized common law divorce. I'm glad they are moving into the 21st century. It was a confusing situation.

Whatever happens in Canada, this is definately something the OP needs to clarify, if only because a joint return can make one party subject to tax fines and penalties for actions of the other party.

I'm confused ... how did you file taxes together, but not hold yourselves out as married? Can you clarify that?

Wow, I just read the law and apparently law makers in OK are idiots too... Thanks Roger, I had no idea this was so freaking weird in the states.
You should get a lawyer. The laws in your state are messed up. I'm not sure why people bother to get married if the government makes you get a divorce without the ceremony, the party and all that jazz..

She need a lawyer at once as it is unlikely that she is married in a non-common law state however then you had the issue of filing false tax returns!!!!!

If he file for divorce then he is going to have to show the local courts that you are married a hard task to do under the conditions and it should go nowhere however because of the tax filings get a lawyer.

One crazy wild card had you live or even travel in a common-law state holding yourselves out as a married couple?

Footnote he is a idiot for opening this can of worms.

Strange law as how do you handle it when one or both of them are already married to someone else?

Second how would you enforce such a law as I assume that the state does not not force roommates to file together so how would the state prove that there is an ongoing sexual relationship going on?

Hell for that matter why would having or not having a sexual relationship outside of marriage and living or not living under the same roof effect your ability to file as an individual?

Seems odds and far more crazy then the concept of common-in-law marriages where the couples need to hold themselves out as married couples not just live under the same roof for a period of time.

You Canadians are crazy in my opinion Ceili.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/prsnl-nf/mrtl-eng.html

Marital status In the Information about you area, tick the box that applied to your marital status on December 31, 2010. Tick "Married" if you had a spouse or "Living common-law" if you had a common-law partner. You still have a spouse or common-law partner if you were living apart for reasons other than a breakdown in your relationship.

Tick one of the other boxes only if married or living common law do not apply to you.

Note
If your marital status changes during the year, and you are entitled to any GST/HST credit, Universal Child Care Benefit, or Canada Child Tax Benefit payments, or Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) advance payments, be sure to let us know and send us a completed Form RC65, Marital Status Change.

Spouse
This applies to a person to whom you are legally married.

Common-law partner
This applies to a person who is not your spouse (see above), with whom you are living in a conjugal relationship, and to whom at least one of the following situations applies. He or she:

a) has been living with you in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months;

b) is the parent of your child by birth or adoption; or

c) has custody and control of your child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age) and your child is wholly dependent on that person for support.

In addition, an individual immediately becomes your common-law partner if you previously lived together in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months and you have resumed living together in such a relationship. Under proposed changes, this condition will no longer exist. The effect of this proposed change is that a person (other than a person described in b) or c)) will be your common-law partner only after your current relationship with that person has lasted at least 12 continuous months. This proposed change will apply to 2001 and later years.

Note
The term "12 continuous months" in this definition includes any period that you were separated for less than 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship. For instance, if you and your spouse or common-law partner were separated for two months during the year, but reconciled before the end of the year, you are still considered to be married or living common-law for income tax purposes.

Completing your tax return
Spouse's or common-law partner's information - Enter on page 1 the following information about your spouse or common-law partner:

•Check the box that applies to your marital status
•Your spouse or common-law partner's SIN, if it is not entered on your personal label
•His or her first name
•His or her net income for 2010 (line 236 of his or her tax return, even if it is zero)
•Indicate the amount of Universal Child Care Benefits included on line 117 of his or her return
•Indicate the amount of Universal Child Care Benefit repayment included on line 213 of his or her return
•Indicate whether he or she was self-employed in 2010 by checking the box in the Information about your spouse or common-law partner area.
Your spouse's or common-law partner's net income
Even though you show your spouse's or common-law partner's net income on your tax return, he or she may still have to file a tax return for 2010. See Do you have to file a tax return?

Your spouse's or common-law partner's Universal Child Care Benefit
This is the amount on line 117 of your spouse's or common-law partner's return, or the amount that it would be if he or she filed a return. Although this amount is included in your spouse's or common-law partner's net income, we will subtract this amount in the calculation of certain credits and benefits.

When I lived with my common-law husband for 20 years, we didn't file jointly for about five years. As you say, how do they know we were common-law and not just room mates? I feel it's none of the govt's business. Likewise, with my present husband, we lived together for 2 years before we married and we filed separately. Both of them were procrastinators and more law-abiding than me, so since I file on time, if not early, I made the decision and they had to put up with it. No fall out ever occurred. People are so afraid they're going to get 'caught', but the govt has bigger fish to fry than little old me. It would be a completely different scenario if we'd had children or if he contributed to a spousal RRSP.

My wife is like you as far as getting the tax return done very early and I normally just pay for the software as my part in doing the taxes.

The tax lady who did our taxes even said if we file as married we would not be married and we wouldn't have to get a divorce. He never called me his wife and i never called him my husband.

The problem you had is not that you are married but you and him knowingly file a false income tax return claiming to be married.

His petition will go nowhere as the court will ask him to produce paperwork to show you are married and a tax filing is not what they mean!

If the court even allow him to file the first steps and you are somehow serve a reply that you are not married to him should be enough.

Once more your problem is not an ex-boyfriend with the crazy idea that by filing a tax return as a married couple you are a married couple but that you and he had file false tax returns.

Your tax lady is crazy also to take part in filing a false return or returns.

The lawyers told me i was not falsifying taxes.

So then what's your question? Just file separately and see what happens. Say you moved out and are no longer living there if they ask you. They really don't care about small peanuts like you and me. Your ex-boyfriend's the idiot for trying to get a divorce to nothing.

Don't worry about it. It'll all work out.

You're telling us that the "lawyers" told you to falsely claim that you were married on your tax return, and that if you did so you would not be filing a false tax return? I have a difficult time believing that. And surely you knew better.

Nevertheless, Bill's assessment seems correct. Did your ex-boyfriend assert in his Petition the date that you were married ... or is he specifically asserting that you are married by common law?

You should respond to the Petition and deny that you're married, and also file a Motion to Dismiss.

I would not care to had a divorce on the record for a marriage that never existed.

I am trying to remember what paperwork I needed to show when I file for my divorce in 1980 and it is not coming to me.

In any case if serve with divorce papers I would go down to the courthouse if I could not afford a lawyer and make sure with the clerks help that my reply clearly stated that we was never married and as Ticomaga posted fill out a motion to dismiss.

Of course that is also admitting that you file a false tax return but I question if the local courts would be interested in the matter.