In U.S. law, a spouse is a person who is legally married to someone else under a marriage that was valid in the place it was performed. That one relationship, recognized the same way whether the couple is same-sex or opposite-sex, is the trigger for a wide set of federal and state rights covering taxes, property, inheritance, Social Security, healthcare, and immigration.
The federal definition sits in 1 U.S. Code § 7. For decades that statute carried the Defense of Marriage Act’s restriction to opposite-sex couples. The Supreme Court struck down that limit in a line of cases ending with Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which required every state to license and recognize same-sex marriages on equal terms.1Justia. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) Congress then rewrote § 7 through the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022. The statute now recognizes any marriage between two individuals that was valid where it was entered into.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 1 USC 7 – Marriage If your marriage was legal in the state or country where it took place, the federal government treats you as spouses.
How Someone Becomes a Spouse
Most people become spouses through a ceremonial marriage. Both parties apply for a marriage license at a county clerk or registrar’s office, showing government-issued photo ID and, if either was married before, proof the earlier marriage ended by divorce or death. Applicants generally must be 18 to marry without parental consent, though some jurisdictions permit younger applicants with a parent’s or court’s approval. Some places impose a short waiting period of one to three days between the license and the ceremony, and license fees typically run between $30 and $100. The marriage is official once a legally authorized officiant performs the ceremony and the signed license is filed with the registrar.
About a dozen states and the District of Columbia also recognize common law marriage, which creates full spousal status without a license or ceremony. Requirements vary, but courts generally look for mutual agreement to be married, cohabitation, and a public reputation as a married couple. A common law spouse has the same legal rights as a ceremonially married spouse. Every state will honor a common law marriage that was validly formed in a state that permits them, though proving one exists can be difficult if the couple later moves.
Tax Rights of a Spouse
Spousal status reshapes a person’s federal tax picture immediately. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6013, married couples may file a joint income tax return, combining their income on a single filing that often reduces the overall tax bill when one spouse earns significantly more than the other.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6013 – Joint Returns of Income Tax by Husband and Wife Joint filers also get higher standard deductions and wider brackets than single filers.
Transfers between spouses carry extraordinary tax protection. The unlimited marital deduction under 26 U.S.C. § 2056 lets a deceased spouse leave any amount of assets to the surviving spouse free of federal estate tax.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 2056 – Bequests, etc., to Surviving Spouse A matching provision at 26 U.S.C. § 2523 allows unlimited tax-free gifts between living spouses.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2523 – Gift to Spouse
These benefits stretch past the death of one partner. A surviving spouse can file jointly for the year of death, and for the next two tax years a surviving spouse with a qualifying dependent child who has not remarried may keep using married-filing-jointly rates under the “qualifying surviving spouse” filing status.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits
After one year of marriage, a spouse becomes eligible to claim Social Security benefits on the other spouse’s earnings record. At age 62, a spouse can collect up to half of the other partner’s full retirement benefit, even with little or no earnings history of their own. Claiming before full retirement age reduces that amount, but a spouse caring for a qualifying child under 16 receives the full spousal benefit regardless of age.7Social Security Administration. Benefits for Spouses8Social Security Administration. What Are the Marriage Requirements to Receive Social Security Spouse’s Benefits
Survivor benefits are larger. A surviving spouse can receive the deceased worker’s full benefit beginning at full retirement age, a reduced amount starting at 60, or starting at 50 if disabled. A surviving spouse caring for the worker’s child who is under 16 or disabled can collect at any age.9Social Security Administration. Survivors Benefits
Divorce does not always end these rights. A former spouse can claim benefits on an ex-spouse’s record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, the divorce has been final for at least two years, and the former spouse has not remarried. The same 10-year rule governs survivor benefits for a divorced surviving spouse. Claiming on an ex-spouse’s record does not reduce what the ex-spouse or any current spouse receives.10Social Security Administration. More Info – If You Had a Prior Marriage
Healthcare Decisions and Family Leave
When a person becomes incapacitated, the law in most jurisdictions treats their spouse as the default medical decision-maker. A spouse can consent to or refuse treatment, access medical records, and direct care without a pre-existing power of attorney. A written healthcare directive still helps by removing ambiguity, but spousal authority is presumed in its absence.
The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year to care for a spouse with a serious health condition.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement To qualify, the employee must work for a covered employer (generally 50 or more employees), have been there at least 12 months, and have logged at least 1,250 hours in the preceding year. For FMLA purposes, “spouse” includes common law and same-sex spouses from any recognizing state, but does not reach domestic partners or people in civil unions.12U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28L – Leave Under the Family and Medical Leave Act When You and Your Spouse Work for the Same Employer
Immigration Sponsorship
A U.S. citizen can petition for a foreign-born spouse to receive a green card by filing Form I-130 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Spouses of U.S. citizens are classified as “immediate relatives,” so an immigrant visa is always available with no waiting list.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative Approval of the I-130 establishes the qualifying relationship; the sponsored spouse then applies separately for the green card through adjustment of status in the U.S. or consular processing abroad.
If the marriage is less than two years old when permanent residence is granted, the sponsored spouse receives conditional resident status rather than a full green card. The couple must jointly petition to remove those conditions during the 90-day window before the second anniversary of the resident status, and failure to file terminates the status automatically.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1186a – Conditional Permanent Resident Status for Certain Alien Spouses and Sons and Daughters Waivers exist for spouses whose marriage has ended or who have suffered abuse.
Property, Inheritance, and the Doctrine of Necessaries
Marriage creates shared financial interests, and the rules depend on where a couple lives. In roughly nine community property states, most assets and debts acquired during the marriage belong equally to both spouses regardless of whose name is on the account. The rest follow equitable distribution, where a court divides marital property based on factors like each spouse’s income, the length of the marriage, and household contributions. Equitable does not mean equal.
Inheritance rights are robust in every state. When a spouse dies with a valid will, assets pass as the will directs. Without a will, state intestacy laws give the surviving spouse priority over other relatives, often awarding the entire estate when there are no children from another relationship and a substantial share when there are.
Spousal status also creates some debt exposure. In community property states, debts incurred during the marriage are generally joint obligations regardless of whose name signed. In equitable distribution states, debts typically stay with the spouse who incurred them unless both signed. Most states also apply the common law doctrine of necessaries, which can hold one spouse liable for the other’s debts for essential goods or services, most commonly medical care, even without a signature. A hospital or nursing facility pursuing payment under this doctrine generally must show the services were essential, the debtor spouse cannot pay, and the non-debtor spouse has the means to cover the cost.
Spousal Privilege in Court
Criminal law protects the marriage relationship through two separate privileges. Spousal testimonial privilege allows a married person to refuse to testify against their spouse in a criminal case; in federal courts the privilege belongs to the witness, who may choose to testify but cannot be compelled.15United States Department of Justice. Marital Privilege – Outline and Chart The marital communications privilege separately shields private conversations between spouses during the marriage and survives divorce, so neither former spouse can later be forced to disclose what was said in confidence. Both privileges have exceptions, particularly for crimes committed by one spouse against the other or against their children.
How Spousal Status Ends
A valid marriage ends in one of three ways. Divorce dissolves the marriage through a court proceeding; every state offers some form of no-fault divorce, and the final decree resolves property division, spousal support, and any custody and child support issues. Until a decree issues, both people remain spouses with every right and obligation of that status.
Annulment is different. It declares that a valid marriage never existed, on grounds like fraud, bigamy, duress, or lack of capacity to consent. Because the union is treated as void from the start, annulment can affect benefits and property differently than divorce, though courts can still divide assets and award support when fairness requires it.
Legal separation is a middle path. A court order sets financial, property, and custody arrangements while the marriage itself remains intact. The couple can continue filing joint tax returns and keeping each other on employer-sponsored health insurance, but neither can remarry until they convert the separation into a divorce.
Death ends the marriage automatically. The surviving spouse inherits under the will or state intestacy law, keeps the right to file a joint return for the year of death, may qualify for qualifying surviving spouse status for two additional years with a dependent child,6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators and can claim Social Security survivor benefits as early as age 60.9Social Security Administration. Survivors Benefits