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State Policies and Laws

There are a wide range of marriage-related state policies and laws. State laws regulate everything from who can get married, and how you can divorce to the use of public dollars to support healthy marriage programs. For in-depth information on how these policies and laws vary across states and for information on how states can use these policies and laws to promote and strengthen marriage, we recommend you consult the documents below.

• National Healthy Marriage Resource Center Fact Sheet: TANF Funds and Healthy Marriage Activities (PDF - 114 KB) This fact sheet outlines how TANF funds can be used to fund programs that develop and maintain healthy marriages/families.

• National Healthy Marriage Resource Center Fact Sheet: Premarital Preparation Requirements in State Law (PDF - 147 KB) Research indicates that premarital preparation can be an effective strategy in supporting healthy marriage and reducing divorce 1, 2 . To encourage couples to participate in premarital preparation (commonly referred to as premarital counseling or marriage education) some states have created an incentive in state law. This incentive is a reduction in the marriage license fee for couples who participate in premarital preparation.

• http://www.clasp.org/publications/beyond_marr.pdf - Center for Law and Social Policy (2004). Beyond Marriage Licenses: Efforts in States to Strengthen Marriage and Two-Parent Families

• http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/welfare/marriage.pdf - National Conference of State Legislatures (2003). Strengthening Marriage and Two-Parent Families

• http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/marriage02f/ - The Lewin Group, Inc. (2002), State Policies to Promote Marriage: Final Report. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

• Cornell Law School Law by Topic Resource: Marriage Laws of the Fifty States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico

• Grounds for Divorce and Residency Requirements - American Bar Association Section on Family Law

1Stanley, Scott. Making a Case for Premarital Education. Minneapolis: National Council on Family Relations, 2001.

2Jason S. Carroll, William J. Doherty, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Premarital Prevention Programs: A Meta-Analytic Review of Outcome Research, Family Relations 52 (2), 105–118, 2003.