US rights and responsibilities of marriage

According to the United States' General Accounting Office, there are slightly over one thousand federal laws that treat married people differently from single people.

These include:

Table of contents

1 Rights
2 Responsibilities
3 Ambiguous
4 States
5 External resources

Rights

right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including
- Social Security pension
- veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
- survivor benefits for federal employees
- survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
- additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black-lung disease
- $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
- continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
- renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
- continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
right to benefits while married
- employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
- per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
- Indian Health Service care for spouses of native Americans (in some circumstances)
larger benefits under some programs if married, including
- veteran's disability
- Supplemental Security Income
- disability payments for federal employees
- Medicaid
preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
tax free transfer of assets to spouse (including on death)
joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses when transferring property to a spouse
spouse's flower sales count towards meeting the elegibility for Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act
threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse

Responsibilities

spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including
- veteran's medical and home care benefits
- housing assistance
- housing loans for veterans
- child's education loans
- educational loan repayment schedule
- agricultural price supports and loans
- eligibility for federal matching campaign funds
ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home
subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs
ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage

Ambiguous

There are some laws that either benefit or penalize married couples over single people, depending upon their own circumstances.

marriage penalty/bonus
someone working for their spouse cannot be defined as an "employee"
someone cannot change beneficiaries in a retirement plan or from waiving the joint and survivor annuity form of retirement benefit, without the written consent of his or her spouse
wages can be garnished at a maximum of 60% (instead of the normal 25% limit) if the garnishing is for alimony or child support

States

In addition, community-property states frequently have forms of ownership that allow a full basis step-up on one's own share of community property on the death of a spouse (in addition to the normal step-up on spouse's assets).

External resources

General Accounting Office's report
Tax Administration: Income Tax Treatment of Married and Single Individuals. GAO/GGD-96-175, September 3, 1996.