Contrary to this popular opinion, getting married is not simply 'getting a piece of paper'.
Marriage is a legal contract between two people which the Australian Government defines as "the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life".
As a consequence, marriage partners are financially, socially and emotionally responsible for each other and any children of their relationship.
Things will change, such as:
- Marriage spouses automatically become each other's next of kin.
- Marriage automatically revokes a Will, unless the Will clearly states that marriage was planned. This automatic revocation occurs because the law assumes that a spouse takes precedence over all other family members and dependents
- The amount of tax a person pays changes once they are married
- property settlement
- survivor benefits
- health insurance
- custody of children
- maintenance
- inheritance
Marriage Vs de facto Relationships:
There are various benefits of marriage in Australia. For instance, it is not required of a married couple to prove their relationship. The marriage certificate already serves as evidence of their partnership, even if they live apart and rarely see each other. However, in de facto relationships, the de facto couple still needs to prove their relationship by providing evidence that they live together and continue to be committed to each other.
Prooving a relationship is important in matters such as:
- if their partner is very ill, in order to make decisions about their care and treatment,
- if their partner died, in order to be listed as their spouse on a death certificate or to be involved in funeral planning (being listed on a death certificate is critically important when it comes to claiming superannuation payouts and other issues), or
- if their partner has died without leaving a Will or died intestate.
It is because marriage is one of the most important contracts one will sign in one's life that the Australian Government requires the equivalent of a 30 day 'cooling off' period before the marriage ceremony takes place. This is known as the Notice of Intended Marriage.
This is to ensure that anyone entering marriage, no matter how closely they have lived, or are living together, gives due consideration to the seriousness of the commitment they are about to make.
Your celebrant from The Celebrants Network directory will give you information from the government about the obligations and consequences of marriage