If a ceremonial or common-law marriage relationship cannot be established under State law, a claimant may still be found to have the relationship as spouse of an employee based upon a deemed marriage. A claimant is deemed to be the wife, husband, or widow(er) of the employee if the person's marriage to the employee would have been valid under State law except for a legal impediment, and all of the following requirements are met:

(a) The claimant married the employee in a civil or religious ceremony.

(b) The claimant went through the marriage ceremony in good faith. Good faith means that at the time of the ceremony the claimant did not know that a legal impediment existed, or if the claimant did know, he or she thought that it would not prevent a valid marriage.

(c) The claimant was living in the same household as the employee (see §222.16) when he or she applied for the spouse annuity or when the employee died.

[54 FR 42949, Oct. 19, 1989, as amended at 65 FR 20726, Apr. 18, 2000]