What your marital status really means - Rocket Lawyer

There's a lot more involved than you may realize. Your marital status creates specific financial, healthcare, tax, and other shared opportunities and ... Account Explore Makedocuments Signdocuments Startabusiness Askalawyer GroupLegalBenefits Pricing Getourapp Account Signup Signin Help SeeourFAQs Sendanemail Chatonline Call(877)881-0947 Legalresources ⌃ Familyandpersonal ⌃ Familymatters ⌃ Marriage ⌃ Whatyourmaritalstatusreallymeans Planningonchangingyourmaritalstatus?Learnaboutthelegalimplicationsofyourmaritalstatusontaxes,estateplanning,andmore. Whatyou'lllearn: Whatchangeswhenyougetmarried? Taxbenefitsofmarriage Financialbenefitsofmarriage Healthandmedicalbenefitsofmarriage Studentaideligibility Governmentassistancebenefitsofmarriage Estateplanningbenefitsofmarriage Single,married,widowed,divorced,orinadomesticpartnership—weknowwhatthesetermsmeaninourdaytodaysociallives.Butwhataboutthewide-ranginglegalimplicationsofyourcurrentmaritalstatus?Theseclassificationssignifyalotmorethanjustaromanticcommitmenttoaspouseorlifepartner. Getstarted Althoughit’snotglamorousorparticularlyromantic,maritalstatusreallyisapracticalmatter—andit’salegalstatusregulatedbythegovernment.Forexample,youhavetogetalicensetogetmarried,yourceremonyofficiantgenerallymustbelicensedtoperformtheceremony,andyourlocalcourthousesendsyouyourfinalmarriagecertificatewhichactsaslegalproofofyourmarriageandproofofyournewlegalstatus.Divorceisalsoalegalprocessandisgrantedbythecourt.Insomestates,domesticpartnershipsaregrantedbystategovernmenttoo,andpartnersmaybeeligibleformanyofthesamestaterightsandobligationsasmarriedcouples(althoughnotatthefederallevel). Whatchangeswhenyougetmarried? Sowhatchangesfromalegalperspectivewhenyougetmarried?There’salotmoreinvolvedthanyoumayrealize.Yourmaritalstatuscreatesspecificfinancial,healthcare,tax,andothersharedopportunitiesandobligations.Herearesomeoftheimportantwaysachangeinyourmaritalstatuscanaffectyourlife(andthelivesofyourfamilymembers). Taxbenefitsofmarriage Whenyougetmarried,yougettofilejointlyormarriedseparately.Withanewspouse,yourincomeislikelytoincrease,anditmayplaceyouinanewtaxbracket.Ontheotherhand,ifyou’refilingtaxesaftermarriage,youmightgetabetterdealasamarriedcouplethanifyouwerebothsingle.Whenamarriageendsduetoadivorceoradeath,you’rebacktofilingasanindividual,andyoufacethesamepossibilitythatyourtaxobligationmayshiftupordown.Readmoreabouthowmaritalstatusaffectsyourtaxes. Financialbenefitsofmarriage Yourcreditscoreisnottieddirectlytoyourmaritalstatus,althoughyourcreditreportwillreflectanychangeofyourlegalname.However,ifyoutakeoutcreditjointlywithyournewspouse,itwillappearonbothofyourcreditreports.Ifthemarriagelaterendsbecauseofdivorce,thisdebtisn’twipedout—youenteredintothedebtasanindividualtoo.Readmoreabouthowmaritalstatusaffectscreditcardandloanapplications. Healthandmedicalbenefitsofmarriage Whenyourlegalstatusis“married”yougetthebenefitofbeingabletoqualifyforcoverageunderyourspouse’semployer-sponsoredhealthcare.Youalsogettherighttovisityourspouseinthehospitalashisorhernextofkin.Whenamarriageends,thesebenefitsalsoend,soit’simportanttofigureoutanalternativemethodofhealthcareaswellascreatingaHospitalVisitationAuthorizationsoyourunmarriedpartneroranothertrustedfriendcanvisityouinthehospital.Readmoreabouthowmaritalstatusaffectsyourhealthinsuranceandhospitalvisitationrights. Studentaideligibility Ifyou’reacollegestudent,anythingthatinfluenceshowyourincomeiscalculatedwillinfluenceyoureligibilityforstudentloansandgrants.Ifyougetmarried,yourhouseholdincomegrowstoosinceyourspouse’sincomewillbecounted.However,youmaybeabletofileasindependent,andyourparent’sincomewon’tbecounted,whichoftenmeansmorefinancialaidforthestudentwhocanfileasindependent.Readmoreabouthowmaritalstatusaffectsstudentaideligibility. Governmentassistancebenefitsofmarriage EligibilityforgovernmentprogramslikeasMedicaid,foodstamps,welfare,TemporaryAssistanceforNeedyFamilies(TANF),orHUDsubsidizedhousingusesyourhouseholdincomeorfamilyincomewhentheydetermineyoureligibility.Youcanqualifyfortheseprogramswhenyourincomefallsbelowtheirpovertylinethreshold.Gettingmarriedortheendofamarriageislikelytoinfluenceyoureligibility.Forexample,ifyoumarrysomeonewithahigherincome,youmaylosecoveragethroughtheseprograms.Ontheotherhand,ifyoubecomesingleafterbeingmarriedtosomeonewhohadahigherincome,youmightbecomeeligibleagain.Readmoreabouthowmaritalstatusaffectseligibilityforgovernmentassistance. Estateplanningbenefitsofmarriage Yourestateplanshouldbeupdatedwheneveryourmaritalstatuschanges.Spouseshaveextrarightswhenitcomestoestateplanning,becausetheyusuallybecometheprimaryheir,evenwhenaLastWillisnotpresent.Theycanalsomakecertainimportantdecisions,evenintheabsenceofaPowerofAttorney.Marriedcouplesalsogetaccesstospecialkindsofestateplanningtrusts,liketheQTIPtrust,forexample.It’salsotax-freetoleaveyourspouseassetsandgifts.Ifyou’regettingdivorcedorhavelostaspouse,you’llneedtoadjustyourestateplantocompensateforthechange.Readmoreabouthowmaritalstatusaffectsestateplanning. Formorelegalhelpwithmarriage-relatedissues,visittheRocketLawyerMarriageLegalCenter. Thisarticlecontainsgenerallegalinformationanddoesnotcontainlegaladvice.RocketLawyerisnotalawfirmorasubstituteforanattorneyorlawfirm.Thelawiscomplexandchangesoften.Forlegaladvice,pleaseaskalawyer. 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