How is a civil union different from marriage?
A civil union is an officially recognized relationship between two individuals who are living together and who have rights and responsibilities similar to those of married couples. In Washington, civil unions have many of the basic rights and responsibilities of marriage, such as hospital visitation, inheritance, and medical decisions. However, civil unions are not the same as marriage. Civil unions are not recognized by the federal government, so couples in a civil union do not have federal rights or benefits that legally married couples do. For example, a couple in a civil union does not have the ability to file taxes jointly like a married couple can. Additionally, couples in a civil union cannot access the same adoption, immigration, social security, or other federal benefits as those who are legally married. Civil unions are also not legally recognized in all states, whereas marriages are. Therefore, if two individuals in a civil union move to a state that does not recognize their union, they will not have any of the basic rights and responsibilities they had in the state they came from. All in all, civil unions provide many of the same rights and responsibilities of marriage and are an important legal recognition for couples living together that should not be discounted. However, they still do not have the same legal recognition of marriage and couples should do further research to understand their legal rights in regards to a civil union.
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