The clock is ticking on common-law marriages in Alabama.

Starting Jan. 1, 2017, the state of Alabama will no longer recognize any new common-law marriages. The unions entered into before Jan. 1, 2017 will still be valid.

The change comes after the Alabama Legislature passed a bill last summer abolishing common-law marriages - unions that are legally recognized despite the absence of an official license - in the state. The current Alabama law requires both parties in a common-law marriage to have the mental capacity to enter in to the union; show they intend to be married to each other; and present themselves as married to family, friends and the community.

The Alabama change leaves only Colorado, Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington, D.C. as recognizing new common-law marriages. New Hampshire recognizes common-law marriages for the purpose of inheritance only while Georgia, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania recognize any unions created before specific dates (1997, 1996, 1991, 1998 and 2005, respectively.)