The cons of getting legally married primarily revolve around potential financial and legal liabilities that can arise from shared assets, debts, and responsibilities.
Potential Financial and Legal Liabilities in Marriage
While marriage offers many benefits, it also introduces specific drawbacks, particularly concerning financial entanglements and legal obligations. These can include exposure to a spouse's debts, changes in tax liabilities, and new responsibilities for dependent children.
Exposure to Spouse's Debts and Risks
One significant con of legal marriage is the potential exposure to a spouse's financial obligations. This can manifest in several ways:
- Creditors: You could become exposed to your spouse's existing or future creditors, meaning their debts might, under certain circumstances, affect your financial standing or assets.
- Insurance Risks: Marriage can merge your insurance profiles, potentially exposing you to your spouse's existing insurance risks, including those related to:
- Health care: Higher premiums or shared deductibles.
- Home: Shared liability or impacts on homeowner's insurance.
- Auto: Effects on auto insurance rates and liability in accidents.
- Long-Term Care Costs: If a spouse requires long-term care, the financial burden, including substantial long-term care costs, could potentially impact the other spouse's assets and financial stability.
Impact on Income Taxes
Marriage can also alter your tax situation. For some couples, combining incomes can lead to a phenomenon known as the "marriage penalty," where they face higher income tax rates when filing jointly compared to what they would pay if they remained single and filed separately. This often occurs when both spouses earn similar, high incomes.
Financial Responsibility for Dependent Children
A less commonly considered, but significant, con is the potential for financial responsibility for your spouse's dependent children. While not necessarily biological or adopted children of both spouses, marrying someone with dependent children can legally obligate you to contribute to their financial support, especially in the event of divorce or separation.
Summary of Cons
The following table summarizes the key financial and legal downsides associated with getting legally married:
| Category of Con | Specific Impact |
|---|---|
| Financial Liabilities | Exposure to spouse's creditors, shared insurance risks (health, home, auto), and long-term care costs. |
| Taxation | Potential for higher income tax rates (the "marriage penalty"). |
| Dependent Care | Imposition of financial responsibility for a spouse's dependent children. |
