Marital Status Definition

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) glossary of statistical terms defines marital status as the civil status of each individual in relation to the marriage laws or customs of the country. There are various marital status options.

Married

Title 1, Chapter 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Code defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.

Single

The term single can apply to an unmarried person according to the FreeDictionary.com Legal section. It can also refer to someone who is a widow.

Separated

U.S. Legal defines separation as a court order declaring that a couple no longer lives together and the issues concerning the marriage have been resolved. The separated couple cannot remarry others.

Divorced

WrongDiagnosis.com defines divorce as the legal dissolution of an officially recognized marriage relationship. The divorced couple can remarry others.

Living With Partner

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, living with a partner could mean that two females, two males (same-sex domestic partnership) or a male and female (co-habitating) are living together.

Warning

For tax purposes, consult the IRS definitions of marital status.

References

• U.S. Census Bureau: Criteria for Marital Status
• California Debates Marital Status Options
• Legal Separation Law & Legal Definition

Resources

• The 5 filing status possibilities for the IRS