The state is California, there is no common law marriage in California.

There was no legal marriage certificate, which was proven in court and it was deemed that the marriage was invalid or did not exist. However, the outcome was that my ex is a putative spouse.

A putative marriage is an apparently valid marriage, entered into in good faith on the part of at least one of the partners, but that is legally invalid due to a technical impediment, such as a preexistent marriage on the part of one of the partners. Unlike someone in a common-law, statutory, or ceremonial marriage, a putative spouse is not legally married. Instead, a putative spouse believes himself or herself to be married in good faith and is given legal rights as a result of this person's reliance upon this good-faith belief.

The typical situation with a putative spouse is when there was a pre-existing marriage, and the current marriage is invalid. However, in my case there was never a marriage certificate in the first place, yet the judge still awarded the putative spouse status to my ex.

I had a marriage ceremony but did not go to a court or any municipal building or sign any paperwork to validate a marriage legally.

How is it possible that a court could have awarded someone the putative spouse without actually obtaining a legal marriage certificate?

How can you "believe" you are legally married, without filling out or signing any paperwork to make it legal?

My lawyer tells me it is too late to appeal.