Legal benefits of marriage

[Aqualung]

so, what exactly are the legal benefits of marriage?

[Booko]

Tax write offs would be the biggest on my list.

Spousal inheritance rights would be right up there as well.

[Nanda]

Collecting a deceased spouse's social security was important for my mother-in-law. My husband and I got married when we did so the baby I was carrying and I could get on his health insurance plan.

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by Aqualung

so, what exactly are the legal benefits of marriage?

Tax advantages ("married filing jointly")

Ability to recover tort damages under wrongful death statutes for injury to your spouse

Clearer rights regarding children

Advantages in the application and interpretation of life and health insurance benefits.

Intestacy (division of property when one dies without a will)

Authority to make healthcare and financial decisions for an incapacitated spouse

Community property (depending on the circumstances that's also a disadvantage for some)

I could go on . . . but those are the big ones that immediately come to mind.

[Aqualung]

Originally Posted by Booko

Tax write offs would be the biggest on my list.

What does that mean (I've never filed taxes as a married person, after all, so I have no idea what sorts of write offs you can get for being married)?

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by Aqualung

What does that mean (I've never filed taxes as a married person, after all, so I have no idea what sorts of write offs you can get for being married)?

By filing as "married filing jointly" you get placed in an entirely different column on the tax charts for calculating the income tax you owe on your adjusted net income. Also, the aggregate effect of the family deductions on a single tax return can be greater then the individual effect if each person files a separate return.