Common Law and Civil Marriage

 Igros Moshe (EH I #74) Man and woman living together without Chupa and Kiddushin but are only registered with government in a civil ceremony Question Regarding the woman who came from Hungary, which is under the Soviet government, and says that she was living with a man for a long time without a Torah marriage, only what was recorded in the register of the government official in the city which is the standard marriage there. There was no act of acquisition or any symbolic act but only the registration of marriage. Later they agreed to separate and they went to the government office to register their separation and from then on they had nothing to do with each other. Neither knew about Jewish rabbis or Jewish law but conducted themselves in marriage and divorce according to the secular practices of the country which they followed as law abiding citizens. After they separated the man went away and she has no knowledge where he went while she moved to Canada.  The question is whether she is free to get married since she is still young – aside from the issue of aguna that Chazal were greatly concerned for their welfare and there is also concern that she might lead a lawless life Answer And here, if the truth is as she says, there was no act of marriage done, even if it happens that there were kosher witnesses there when they were registered as man and a wife, it is nothing. But the only legal question is if they went lived together as a man and his wife in a place where there are kosher Jews to testify then we might say there is strong presumption that a person does not conduct himself in a lawless manner when it comes to marriage. But this issue is a major dispute amongst the Sages. Consequently in this case where it is clear that she never went to mikve because of Nidah because if she had she would have known about a rabbi or religious Jews and thus she would have had a religious ceremony since there are still a few religious Jews in every Hungarian city. My friend Rav Henkin claims that Jewish halachic marriage is primarily the intent of the woman to be the wife so even when there is no act of acquisition as long as she is brought into his house for the purpose of marriage as we know from their registration of the marriage it is considered a Torah marriage even it is less than a perutah  Even though his explanation  seems logical but it is difficult to justify it from the gemora. Consequently if it is possible to obtain a get it is good to be strict and get one out of concern for the view of Rav Henkin, nevertheless if it is impossible to obtain a get from the husband when his location is unknown she is still free to get married. Furthermore in our case that the civil marriage is dissolved according to the law of the land whenenever they wish to separate from each other, even Rav Henkin would agree that there is no marriage. Nevertheless it is necessary to investigate whether the facts are as she claims since Hungary has only recently become secularized  so it can not be assumed that the new laws and customs have been accepted by all the inhabitants and most have a religious ceremony after the secular one this is true even in places that the communists have ruled for 40 years , so she might be lying about not having a religious ceremony.  .  In fact if she was not known in Canada as being ever married than she is believed, since her testimony is the sole basis that she might be prohibited as a married woman so she would be believed to permit her to get married. However if she is a registered or known communist it is unlikely she had a religious ceremony