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Alex and Blake held a wedding ceremony in State A in 2018 and lived together as spouses for six years. Before the ceremony, Alex told Blake that Alex's prior marriage to Casey had ended years earlier. In fact, Casey had filed for divorce, but the final decree was not entered until 2020. Blake did not know that the prior marriage remained legally undissolved at the 2018 ceremony.
After the 2020 divorce decree, Alex and Blake continued living together, filed joint tax returns, wore wedding rings, and introduced each other as spouses. State A does not recognize common-law marriage but has a putative-spouse statute protecting a person who entered a marriage ceremony in good faith. State B, where the couple later moved, recognizes common-law marriage if the parties have capacity, present intent to be married, cohabitation, and public holding out.
Alex now seeks a declaration that there was never any marriage and that Blake has no property or support rights. Blake seeks recognition as a spouse or, alternatively, putative-spouse relief. Discuss the likely marital-status and financial-rights consequences.