Recently, the Commonwealth Court decided to do away with the doctrine of common law marriage. The Court said: "The circumstances creating a need for the doctrine are not present in today's society. Access to both civil and religious authorities for a ceremonial marriage is readily available in even the most rural areas of the Commonwealth." However, questions remain, such as:

The consensus of opinion is that everyone who already has a common law marriage is grandfathered in. As for the date of prohibition, perhaps it is the date of the opinion in this landmark case. PNC Bank Corp. vs. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (September, 2003).