legal marriage
Official spousal bond
Legal marriage is marriage as recognized by the state, distinguished from religious or ceremonial unions that may lack official status.
The term often appears in debates about which relationships governments should formally acknowledge: Same-sex couples fought for decades to obtain legal marriage.
A legal marriage confers specific rights regarding property, taxation, inheritance, and medical decisions.
- matrimonyLegal union of spouses
- wedding ceremonyRitual joining two spouses
- courthouse weddingMarriage performed by judge
- marital contractLegal terms governing marriage
- divorce decreeCourt document ending marriage
family law · inheritance rights · next of kin · indissoluble · parental rights · dowry · prenuptial agreement · survivor benefits · tying the knot · getting hitched · legitimacy · tax benefits · joint filing · husband · consummation · separation agreement · groom · vows
legal marriagecohabitation
Dwelling together unmarried
domestic partnership · living together · living in sin · de facto relationship · shacking up
legal marriageillicit affair
Prohibited romantic relationship
secret relationship · forbidden love · adultery · sham marriage · marriage of convenience
legal marriagedivorce
Legal end of matrimony
annulment · legal separation · singlehood · bachelorhood · spinsterhood