Lesson3: Rights and Responsibilities of a Married Couple

Rights and Obligations of Married People 

When people marry, they create a brand new legal relationship with each other. Their marriage is a legally binding contract and, like any legal contract, it involves obligations on the one hand and rights on the other. Couples approaching marriage often have a difficult time staying focused on this fact. The excitement of the "big day"; the time and energy involved in arranging a wedding (especially a big wedding); the anticipation of ending one way of life and beginning a new one (a life together), often make it very hard to take a sober look at the legal aspects of the new life that is about to begin.  However, this makes it all the more important to understand just what rights and obligations a marriage entails.


A marriage is a contract, and the courts will enforce it. What follows is a closer look at the rights and obligations married people owe each other.