Marriage provides for certain rights and benefits that are not available to couples who are not in a legally recognized relationship (factual relationship) . These benefits relate primarily to inheritance rights, health care, social benefits, adoption of a child, tax relief and the right not to testify against the spouse in various proceedings.
Health care
As the closest person to your spouse under the law, you have the right to make decisions on his/her behalf about significant issues regarding his/her health care in situations where your spouse is not able to do so. Such decisions cover the acceptance or rejection of medical treatment in general or of specific medical methods which can have, for example, considerable side effects. You will also be the first person informed when your spouse has terminated his/her medical treatment and left a medical institution.
Your right to decide on such matters is significant, as it affects your spouse’s health and life as well, to a considerable extent. However, you must observe your partner’s previously expressed wishes regarding his/her medical treatment.
Inheritance
You may inherit your spouse’s property on the basis of Civil law, even if there is no last will or inheritance agreement. An unmarried partner, on the other hand, has to be specifically mentioned in the last will or inheritance agreement in order to inherit from his/her partner.
Further, you are entitled to a preferential share (forced heirship) of your spouse’s inheritance, even if your spouse has decided in the last will or inheritance agreement to leave his/her property to other persons. You also have the right to challenge the terms of the last will or the inheritance agreement, even if you are not included in it. These rights are not available to unmarried partners.
Adoption
Only a married couple has the privilege to adopt a child jointly and thus establish a legally recognized family relationship between them as adoptive parents and an adopted child.
Social benefits
You may receive a sum from your spouse’s state (or service) pension which had been calculated but not disbursed at the time of his/her death. You may also obtain the specific allowance for persons whose spouse has passed away, as well as a funeral allowance in case of your spouse’s death. There are also additional social benefits for persons whose spouse has served in the public service, for example, in military service.
important Social benefits related to pregnancy and a parent-child relationship are not dependent on the fact of whether you have concluded marriage.
Tax relief
Spouses are entitled to certain tax relief. If your spouse is not employed and does not receive a pension, you are entitled to personal income tax relief for his/her maintenance. You also don’t have to pay personal income tax for gifts received from your spouse.
Right not to testify against your spouse
You have the right not to testify against your spouse in court proceedings. These proceedings include pre-trial proceedings in criminal procedures, as well as court proceedings in civil, criminal, administrative and administrative violations procedures.