## Facts

- Paul A. Duval and Karen Hargrave began cohabiting in Massachusetts in 1994.
- Duval bought a home in Custer, South Dakota, in 1995; Hargrave moved there in 1996.
- From 1997 forward, they typically spent summers in South Dakota and winters in Mexico.
- In 1998, they jointly purchased a home in Nuevo León, Mexico, describing themselves as “husband and wife.”
- Duval and Hargrave never had a formal marriage ceremony; Hargrave testified they chose not to, believing they were effectively married based on their conduct.
- Duval at times treated Hargrave as a spouse in documents, including referring to her as his wife on at least one tax return, naming her as a beneficiary on a VA health-benefits application, and executing a general power of attorney in her favor.
- Duval died intestate on June 24, 2008, in a rock-climbing accident in Custer County, South Dakota.
- In probate, Hargrave sought recognition as Duval’s surviving spouse to inherit under South Dakota intestacy law.

## Issues

1. Whether the parties formed a valid marriage under Nuevo León, Mexico law through a status characterized as concubinage.
2. Whether the parties formed a valid common-law marriage under Oklahoma law.
3. If a valid marriage was formed under another jurisdiction’s law, whether it would be recognized for South Dakota intestate succession purposes.

## Decision

- The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s determination that Hargrave was Duval’s surviving spouse.
- The court held Hargrave failed to prove a valid marriage under Nuevo León law because concubinage is not marriage.
- The court held Hargrave failed to prove a valid Oklahoma common-law marriage because the evidence did not establish a present, mutual agreement to be husband and wife under Oklahoma’s clear-and-convincing standard.
- Because no valid out-of-state marriage was established, Hargrave was not a “surviving spouse” for South Dakota intestacy, and she could not inherit as a spouse.

## Legal Principles

- South Dakota does not permit formation of common-law marriage within the state, but may recognize a marriage validly formed under another jurisdiction’s law if a valid marriage was actually created there.
- A legal status recognized in another jurisdiction (such as concubinage) does not qualify as marriage for South Dakota probate purposes unless that status constitutes a marriage under the foreign jurisdiction’s law.
- Under Oklahoma law, a common-law marriage requires (1) a present, mutual agreement to be husband and wife, (2) cohabitation, and (3) public recognition of the relationship as a marriage.
- Proof of an Oklahoma common-law marriage must satisfy Oklahoma’s clear-and-convincing-evidence standard; cohabitation and holding out, without proof of a present mutual agreement, is insufficient.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that a long-term cohabiting relationship, even one involving shared residences and occasional representations of being married, does not confer spousal inheritance rights absent proof of a valid marriage under the governing foreign law; therefore, Hargrave was not a surviving spouse under South Dakota intestacy law.


Hargrave v. Duval-Couetil (In re Estate of Duval), 2010 S.D. 2, 777 N.W.2d 380 (S.D. 2010)