Many people are not aware of marriage laws and how they affect them.  Even if you have not actually gotten married, you may be considered as being common-law marriage.  One of the main reasons that people need to be aware of the marriage laws is that this can affect the way they need to do their taxes.  Most people are actually not aware of what type of relationship they are legally in, starting with common-law marriage which is also known as informal marriage or marriage by habit.

A couple is considered as falling under common-law marriage laws when they have been living together for a given amount of time or live together and have a child together.  Common-law marriage is legally recognized in some jurisdictions.  If you are in a relationship where you live together or have a child together, it will be wise to get information from the government and see if you are legally considered as a common-law couple where you live.  There are important distinctions that differentiate common-law marriage from ceremonial marriage.

The main thing of course is that the common-law marriages have not been licensed by government authorities.   While you can be common-law marriage just by living with someone, if you actually want to be married you will need to go through the whole process.  If you actually want to be married then you would need to say the vows and go through with an actual marriage ceremony.  This is what most people prefer anyway because they want to have the whole celebration around their wedding.

You can either check on this through the local head of government or by going online.  By finding out the different marriage laws that apply in your state this is the only way that you will know what laws apply when you get married.  Although marriage is governed by laws, the most important thing is that you have love in your marriage.  For people who are not willing to work hard at their marriage, they are going to need to start learning about the divorce laws.

No matter what the laws may be on marriage, the most important thing is that you love the other person.  Of course you want your wedding day to be perfect and have everything legal.  Just make sure that your wedding is going to be legal before going ahead with it.  When you know the marriage laws for where you live you can make sure of this.