How many rights and benefits are related to civil marriage?
Legal marriage conveys upon the couple a wide variety of rights and responsibilities. Because each state creates its own set of marriage laws, the laws number between 170-to-350 depending on the state. Within the Federal system, more than 1,049 laws are triggered by legal marriage. In 1997, the General Accounting Office of the Federal Government compiled a list of 1,049 rights and benefits, which were related to civil marriage.