Does a later denial of the marriage by one or both parties dissolve a previously valid common-law marriage under Texas law according to Estate of Claveria?
No. The court held that the spouses’ subsequent denials of the common-law marriage do not undo it. Once a common-law marriage has legally come into existence, it stands as a lawful marriage unless formally dissolved. This protects the rights of parties who may be economically or legally vulnerable if the marriage could be invalidated unilaterally.
Cite: Estate of Claveria v. Claveria, 615 S.W.2d 164 (Tex. 1981).