Marriage offers over 1,000 rights, protections, and tax benefits, while civil partnerships do not. Marriage is recognized globally, while civil partnerships are only recognized in certain areas. There are differences in taxes, legal protections, and health insurance between the two. Ending a civil partnership can also be difficult.
The differences between civil partnership and marriage are numerous. In the United States, for example, marriage offers couples over 1,000 rights, protections and tax benefits; these same rights are typically not extended to those in a civil partnership. There is also a difference in how these two partnerships are viewed legally; marriage is recognized by almost every government in the world. A civil partnership, however, is only recognized by governments that allow that form of legal status. A civil partnership and a marriage also differ in the ease of termination or dissolution of the partnership.
Three of the main differences in which a civil partnership and a marriage differ are taxes, legal protections and health issues. Under the US tax system, married couples can file jointly or separately, thereby proving that they are a family unit, which allows for additional deductions, credits, and often a reduction in the tax burden. While civil union members are also a family unit, they are not eligible for these same benefits and often end up paying more taxes than a married couple with similar finances.
In many countries, when a member of a married couple passes away, the assets left to the surviving spouse may be considered tax free or subject to reduced taxation. A surviving partner in a civil union will, in most cases, have to pay taxes on whatever remains. In the United States, a surviving partner in a civil union is also ineligible to collect the deceased partner’s Social Security benefits, which married couples may be eligible for. While a marriage often provides each spouse with the assurance that, with a proper will, all matrimonial assets, pension funds, and life insurance policies will be turned over to the surviving spouse, those in a civil union are left vulnerable to lawsuits. for the same assets from other family members, even if the deceased had a will.
In a marriage, when a spouse works for an employer who provides health insurance, they can often add their spouse to the policy. In most cases, this same benefit is not extended to civil partnership partners. This difference between a civil partnership and marriage can make it extremely difficult and expensive for those in a civil partnership to carry health insurance, especially in cases where one partner chooses to stay home with the children, thus making that partner ineligible for employer covered health insurance.
Almost all countries recognize marriages from other countries, to the point where many governments allow citizens to marry in another country without completing any additional paperwork beyond obtaining a translation of the marriage certificate, if applicable. This is not the case with a civil union. In order for a couple entering into a civil union to have their limited rights recognized, they can only live in an area that recognizes civil unions. These locations are often few and far between, thus limiting business and travel opportunities.
Since civil unions are not yet recognized in most areas, ending one can prove difficult. While a marriage can be entered into, through divorce, dissolution or annulment, by any jurisdiction where a couple applies for residency, a civil partnership can only be entered into by a government that recognizes it. This means that civil partnership couples who have subsequently moved to an area that does not recognize it as legal may often have to return to the area where they originally settled to apply for residency. This can take from three months to a year. These differences between civil partnership and marriage are also at the forefront of the same-sex marriage debate.
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