Marriage People Couple States Decide Married Live Period

In the United States, many "couples" (two people in a romantic relationship) decide to move in together before they get married. Sometimes these people decide to live together without ever getting married.

When a man and a woman live together for a long period of time, they may have a "common-law marriage." Each state has different laws, but in general a "common-law marriage" "occurs" (happens) when the couple has lived together for a specific period of time (usually a few years) and is acting like husband and wife. The couple never has a marriage "ceremony" or wedding, but they are officially and legally married. By law, a common-law marriage is just like a regular marriage and has all the same "tax benefits" (married couples pay less in taxes than single people do) as official marriages do. If two people in a common-law marriage decide to separate, they must have a divorce just like a couple in an official marriage.

In many states, "homosexual" couples, meaning man-man or woman-woman romantic relationships, are not able to have a regular marriage or a common-law marriage. When these couples live together for a long period of time, some states recognize the situation as a "domestic partnership." In some states, this gives the couple the benefits of being married, such as sharing "property" (land or homes), "health insurance" (payments for medical costs), money, and the "custody" (legal responsibility for) children.

The issue of homosexual or "same-sex" marriage is very "controversial" (with a lot of public disagreement) in the U.S. Many Americans believe that same-sex couples should have the same rights to marry as other couples. At the same time, many people are against homosexual marriage because they believe that marriage should only be between "heterosexual" or man-woman couples. However, most Americans recognize the importance of some legal recognition of same-sex relationships, such as domestic partnerships.