Marriage – definition by The Free Dictionary. A legal marriage between two legally authorized persons who each involves certain legal obligations and immunities of each individual, formerly limited in the United States to only a union between an male and a female. Marriage is considered as an established relationship between a man and a woman who are legally and formally married. Marriage is one of the most important institution in all of the world. In various cultures and societies around the world, marriage is regarded as a religious ceremony.
In the United States, a married couple is defined under federal law as any individual who has been married. To complicate matters for married couples, some states require that a non-custodial parent have a minimum amount of income to be deemed a resident for tax purposes, while others do not. For example, in Nevada, a non-custodial parent who has the same amount of income as the custodial parent does not need to have his or her own income tax return. Same goes for the dependency exemption for same-sex spouses. As such, a married person who remarries without the permission or exception of his previous state does not need to file separately with the IRS.
Under U.S. tax law, marital status and liability for tax purposes are determined on the basis of marital union. Although there are many variations in the laws of different states, a married couple generally will remain legally married if they cohabit for a year and a half, have held their current status for six months, and maintain continuous residency with the United States. Similarly, a married person who gets a divorce or separation order is still considered to be married if he or she files the divorce or separation papers jointly with the spouse filing the suit. Likewise, if one of the spouses has filed for bankruptcy, the bankrupt person is still deemed to be married, unless the bankruptcy court declares otherwise.
On the other hand, many people believe that all marriages should be dissolved and that happily married couples should choose separate lives. Some even go as far as saying that marriages are obsolete and should be rejected altogether. These opinions are often derived from the fact that divorce is fast becoming the most common reason why children of broken homes remain without parents, and that many happily married couples who have undergone divorce still live together after seven years.
Divorce and remarriage have become so common these days that some companies have designed programs that help individuals plan their wedding, get the proper divorcing forms signed by both parties, and select a licensed attorney to settle the dissolution. Another way to help people who are unhappy with their present marital status is to help them create their own “parallel track” in which they plan their married life prior to getting married and follow it with a single track after marriage. Other couples choose to seek medical guidance for marital and sexual health issues from clinics like Preferred Men’s Medical Center. Some happily married couples continue to be good friends while pursuing careers; some pursue careers but stay friends, and others maintain the same friendships they had before marriage without ever remarrying. The key here is for the married couple to realize that they have the ability to decide whether or not to be happy together. A good way to do this is to set up a parallel track where you can see how things are going in your new life and compare it to what you’ve experienced in your marriage. If things look better on the outside than in, then you may be ready to remarry.
No matter how much we might wish that our lives were easy like buying a house with a fixed mortgage and buying a car with a fixed rate, reality has a way of catching up to us sometimes. When looking at marriage, it’s important to remember that you may have spent years building your life together, and now you need to take care of the life you’ve built. Just because your spouse no longer communicates with you as much as he used to doesn’t mean that you should jump the gun and start thinking about a divorce. Instead, spend some time reflecting on your marriage and the good times you’ve had, and then let your heart guide you. If you do this and both parties feel like the marriage still has potential to be great, then you may have a chance at saving the marriage.
