I have a policy based on an H03 which says "insured" means the policy holder and residents of the household who are:
a) relatives
b) any other person under the age of 21 who is in the care of any person named above.
Consider the following example: You 17 year old son's best freind's dad goes off to Iraq. Mom is on drugs. The boy stays overnight at your house more and more often until he ends up being like a part of your family. You feed him and drive him to school with your son. He used your address for his driver's license. He is an " insured" by the policy definition above.
2nd example: Man gets engaged but not yet married. Woman has her personal property in his house. She is not a resident or relative, at least according to one carrier's opinion on a DP1 policy.
3rd example: Common law marriages. The definition of marriage is still reserved to individual states. If a man and woman live together for several years they may be considered married in many states, but not others. The adjuster needs to be aware of the law in the state he is working. The IRS also respects state law: if a taxpayer lives in a state where common law marriage is recognized, he can file as "married". If he then moves to a state where common law marriage is not recognized, he can no longer file as married. If the insured can provide evidence that they are married (such as a federal tax return) this could be the evidence the adjuster needs.
from
http://marriage.about.com/cs/common...monlaw.htm # Ascertain if the state/country you are living in recognizes common-law marriages. Only a few states plus the District of Columbia recognize common-law marriages.
Currently, common-law marriages are recognized by: Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington, D.C.
# Generally, there are four requirements for a valid common-law marriage. Just living together isn't enough to validate a common-law marriage.
# Requirement One:
You must live together.
# Requirement Two:
You must present yourselves to others as a married couple. Some ways of doing this are by using the same last name, referring to one another as husband or wife, and filing a joint tax return.
# Requirement Three:
Although the time frame is not defined, you have to be together for a significant period of time.
# Requirement Four:
You must intend to be married.
# In the U.S., the agreement by every state to recognize as valid a common-law marriage that was recognized in another state has been challenged by many states creating state laws not recognizing same sex marriages valid in other locales. It is best to consult an attorney to make sure your common-law marriage is recognized in the state where you are currently residing.
# Note:
The Social Security Administration will only recognize your common-law marriage if the state where you reside recognizes your common-law marriage.
To make sure that you would be eligible for survivor benefits, you need to go to a SSA office and fill out forms, provide statements from two blood relatives, and provide supporting evidence of your common-law relationship.
# Your Federal Income Tax, Publication 17:
"Considered married. "You are considered married for the whole year if on the last day of your tax year you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests ... 2. You are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began."
Tips:
1. These states have restrictions and only recognize common-law marriages performed/created by a certain date:
* Georgia, January 1, 1997
* Idaho, January 1, 1996
* Ohio, October 10, 1991
* Oklahoma, November 1, 1998. Whether the Oklahoma law on this will be upheld is still unknown
More on Oklahoma Common-Law Marriage.
* Pennsylvania, January 1, 2005.
2. New Hampshire only recognizes common-law marriages for probate purposes.
Somebody please post the definitions of "resident" and insured" and "relative" from a regular HO3. If nobody else posts it I will look it up- I don't do regular HO3 policies very often.