What are the legal benefits of marriage in the U.S.?

[Maxel]

Question, and I don't want to turn this into a big debate (heaven knows we've seen enough of that):

What changes for a couple, legally, when they get married in the United States? What are the legal benefits? I know there's tax breaks, but what else?

I don't care who answers, as long as the information is reliable. I've spent hours looking for this information before and I just got headaches (I don't speak legal-ese very well). Much appreciation to everyone who responds!

[cofchristcousin]

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04353r.pdf

This is at the federal level. States would have individual benefits that would vary from State to State.

[cofchristcousin]

Here is a more accessible list pulled from the document.

The following is a review of a 1997 and 2004 government report that outlined the specific benefits afforded married couples in the United States. These are benefits and rights denied gay and lesbian couples.

Right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including:

-- Social Security pension
-- veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
-- survivor benefits for federal employees
-- survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
-- additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
-- $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
-- continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
-- renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
-- continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
-- payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death
-- making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts

Right to benefits while married:

-- employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
-- per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
-- Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
-- sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits

Larger benefits under some programs if married, including:

-- veteran's disability
-- Supplemental Security Income
-- disability payments for federal employees
-- medicaid
-- property tax exemption for homes of totally disabled veterans
-- income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates

Joint and family-related rights:

-- joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
-- joint parenting rights, such as access to children's school records
-- family visitation rights for the spouse and non-biological children, such as to visit a spouse in a hospital or prison
-- next-of-kin status for emergency medical decisions or filing wrongful death claims
-- custodial rights to children, shared property, child support, and alimony after divorce
-- domestic violence intervention
-- access to "family only" services, such as reduced rate memberships to clubs & organizations or residency in certain neighborhoods
-- Preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
-- Tax-free transfer of property between spouses (including on death) and exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses.
-- Special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
-- Spouse's flower sales count towards meeting the eligibility for Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act
-- Threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
-- Right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse
-- Court notice of probate proceedings
-- Domestic violence protection orders
-- Existing homestead lease continuation of rights
-- Regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants exemption
-- Funeral and bereavement leave
-- Joint adoption and foster care
-- Joint tax filing
-- Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society
-- Legal status with stepchildren
-- Making spousal medical decisions
-- Spousal non-resident tuition deferential waiver
-- Permission to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse, including burial or cremation
-- Right of survivorship of custodial trust
-- Right to change surname upon marriage
-- Right to enter into prenuptial agreement
-- Right to inheritance of property
-- Spousal privilege in court cases (the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege)

Spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including:

-- veteran's medical and home care benefits
-- housing assistance
-- happy birthday housing loans for veterans
-- child's education loans
-- educational loan repayment schedule
-- agricultural price supports and loans
-- eligibility for federal matching campaign funds
-- Ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home:
-- Subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs
-- Ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage

There are some laws that either benefit or penalize married couples over single people, depending upon their own circumstances:

-- Marriage penalty/bonus
-- Someone working for their spouse cannot be defined as an "employee"
-- Someone cannot change beneficiaries in a retirement plan or from waiving the joint and survivor annuity form of retirement benefit, without the written consent of his or her spouse
-- Wages can be garnished at a maximum of 60% (instead of the normal 25% limit) if the garnishing is for alimony or child support

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[Kawazu]

Marriage as a government contract comes with some spiffy perks.

[john doe]

Health insurance coverage and spousal rights to pensions and social security are probably the big ones.

[Just_A_Guy]

Under state law, you also will usually see

--Intestate inheritance rights (you can, of course, draw up a will and leave your stuff to whomever you choose; but if there's no will a legal spouse--or, if there is no legal spouse, then the decedent's parents--gets primacy in most intestacy schemes), and protection from a deceased partner's deliberately omitting one from the will;
--Hospital visitation;
--Primacy in making health care decisions for an incapacitated spouse (again, you can set up whatever you want with an Advance Health Care Directive (at least in Utah) - but if you don't make such arrangements, a legal spouse or the parents will be making those decisions);
--Spousal immunity privilege (one spouse can't be forced to testify against the other in court);
--A statutory presumption that jointly owned property is owned as a Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship (as opposed to a Tenancy in Common), as well as an option to declare a different type of ownership called Tenancy by the Entireties that is available only to married couples;
--Ready-made statutory guidelines for the division of property and children in case the couple splits up.

There are probably more; I'm just going off the top of my head here.

[Maxel]

Thank you everyone for responding! I appreciate the list, cofchristcousin and JAG.

[desirexnoel]

Originally Posted by Maxel

Question, and I don't want to turn this into a big debate (heaven knows we've seen enough of that):

What changes for a couple, legally, when they get married in the United States? What are the legal benefits? I know there's tax breaks, but what else?

I don't care who answers, as long as the information is reliable. I've spent hours looking for this information before and I just got headaches (I don't speak legal-ese very well). Much appreciation to everyone who responds!

Hi! I have this really good link that contains a large list. As far as I know that is everything. Please have a look. n_n

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