Husband and Wife - Support, Property, Sexual Relationship, Crimes, Privileged Communication, Domestic Abuse, Same-sex Marriage

law duties rights person

A man and woman who are legally married to one another and are thereby given by law specific rights and duties resulting from that relationship.

The U.S. legal concept of marriage is founded in English COMMON LAW. Under common law, when a man and woman married, they became a single person in the eyes of the law—that person being the husband. The duties and benefits afforded a married woman, as well as the restrictions on her freedom, reflected this view. Even today, although the Equal Protection Clause provides that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the EQUAL PROTECTION of the laws" (U.S. Const. amend. 14, § 1), the U.S. Supreme Court has never interpreted this to mean that states must treat husbands and wives the same.

There is a strong public policy in favor of marriage. Because of this, a husband and wife are not always able to determine their duties and privileges toward one another; instead, these rights and responsibilities are set forth by special legal principles that define the parameters within which husbands and wives must act.

CROSS-REFERENCES

Domestic Violence; Family Law; Gay and Lesbian Rights.

Additional Topics

Husband and Wife - Support

Husband and Wife - Property

Historically, wives were at a disadvantage as property owners. At common law, when a woman married, her personal possessions were considered to be the property of her husband. In addition, the husband was entitled to use the land she owned or subsequently inherited, and to retain rents and profits obtained from it. A married woman's right to own property was not incorporated into U.S. law u…

Husband and Wife - Sexual Relationship

It was once thought that the degree of privacy to which a married couple is entitled could be restricted. Although some state statutes have used this reasoning to attempt to prohibit certain sex acts between a husband and wife, such as anal and oral sex, most courts have maintained that married couples have a constitutional privacy right over their marital sexual activities (Lovisi v. Zahradnick, …

Husband and Wife - Crimes

Under common law, a husband was held responsible for any crimes committed by his wife against a third party. Although a wife had responsibility for crimes she committed, there was a legal presumption that her husband compelled her to perform any act she undertook when he was present. Today, husbands and wives are equally liable for their own criminal actions. …

Husband and Wife - Privileged Communication

Husband and Wife - Domestic Abuse

The common-law right of a husband to discipline his wife combined with interspousal tort immunity prevented incidents of domestic abuse from becoming public. In addition, victims of domestic abuse often did not reveal the extent of their injuries for fear of reprisals. Little legal relief was available, as courts were hesitant to interfere in the husband-and-wife relationship. With the abrogation …

Husband and Wife - Same-sex Marriage

In 1996, largely in response to Baehr, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (110 Stat. § 2419), which defines marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife." The term spouse is defined as a "person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." In effect, the Defense of Marriage Act states that the federal government does n…

Husband and Wife - Further Readings

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