Marriage may be an act of free selection and personal commitment among two adults, but it is also a social institution. As such, the state has a venture in the success of your partnership as a fundamental unit of society.
In the weeks and days before your wedding, or very shortly after that, you will have to take care of some of the following practical matters.
· Find out how to apply for a marriage license (in the city or county where the ceremony is to be performed) and meet whatever requirements the state has. (These vary from place to place and state to state: waiting periods, blood tests, evidence of vaccinations, a general physical exam.) Ask your officiant about the licensing requirements, or call the county clerk’s office.
· Make appointments for any medical checkups or procedures you want to have completed before marriage.
· Change beneficiaries and/or include your spouse on any pre-existing health/disability/life insurance policies or investment plans. (Most people have these plans through their employer, so talk to your benefits advisor at work to find out how your marriage will affect whatever policies and plans you currently have.)
· Compare the benefit and protection plans each of you holds and determine what else you many need. Contact your independent insurance agent for changes and additions on car and homeowner’s insurance, as well as on any other coverage.
· Add your spouse’s name/signature to any bank accounts, car registrations, investment accounts, or credit cards you intend to share. Remember, the little words and and or make a difference. A joint savings account for Mary Doe “and” John Doe means that both signatures are required for a transaction; “or” means either signature will do. You should understand that, if you hold bank accounts and/or credit accounts in both names, you will each have free access to those accounts and each is legally responsible for any bills incurred by the other.
· If you will change your name after marriage (or if he will be combining his surname with yours), you each need to effect that change on driver’s licenses, employment records, Social Security cards, bank accounts, credit cards, and so on (No other “official” procedure exists; ordinary usage changes one’s name after marriage.) A married woman does not have to change her name at all, and failure to do so will not affect the legitimacy of children born of the marriage.
Furthermore, under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), a woman is entitled, and encouraged, to maintain her own separate credit rating. Even if she has no outside employment, she can establish a personal credit rating by merely using her name, not her husband’s (Mrs. Mary Doe, not Mrs. John Doe) on any credit accounts. Also, under the ECOA, a person may not be denied a credit application or refused a loan because of marital status.
· If you have a will, you might want to review its provisions in light of your new status with an attorney in the state in which you will be living after marriage. Rights of survivorship vary from state to state, and a will executed in one location is not automatically upheld in another.
If there are any assets at all between you and any concern for the welfare and convenience of your spouse should something happen, you should each have a will. Nobody likes to think about such things, but the time to do it is now when you are both healthy and happy.
· If either of you has been married before and is receiving alimony, that will stop once you are remarried. Other aspects of the divorce settlement could be affected, as well. You will need to tell your former spouse about your marriage plans, and one, or both, of you may need to see an attorney.
· Review your tax situation. If you will be married on or before December 31, you may legally file joint returns for that calendar year.
· You should also talk about family planning, marital roles, and existing obligations to other family members. What you decide about rights and duties in your marriage is not important; whether or not you agree is.
Marriage and family laws are constantly changing to reflect new patterns of living among modern couples and families. The law generally bears in mind both spouses are equally responsible for each other’s support, financial and otherwise, in spite of how individuals decide to combine their efforts and lend their support.
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