When a couple decides to tie the knot, they’ll often say they’re marrying their best friend.

But what if two actual best friends – no sex or even romantic feelings involved – just decided to get married?

Friends, The New York Times recently reported, are starting to “marry in a platonic fashion, swearing never to leave each other for better or for worse.”

These “nonconjugal couples” – mutually supportive relationships of friends or relatives that lack a sexual component – are powerfully challenging dominant social and legal norms around what constitutes family.

I’ve recently written about how these nontraditional couples could one day gain legal recognition – and thus tax breaks and couple benefits – in the courtrooms of the U.S., Canada and Europe.

But legal recognition, as of today, doesn’t exist. So there are risks in saying “I do” to a friend.

The legal pitfalls of platonic marriages

Two friends can get married for a host of reasons.

They might not believe in the traditional heterosexual family and wish to challenge it. They might simply think that their best friend is the person they want to share chores, meals and finances with. Or they might also believe that, as law-abiding taxpayers, they should also be able to receive the family benefits that other married couples receive, like filing their tax returns jointly.

At the moment, though, friendship is not recognized by law. And only a handful of states allow friends to gain legal recognition through registration as domestic partners. These include Maine, Maryland and Colorado.

However, any two consenting adults – regardless of their genders – can get married in the U.S. Two friends, therefore, can pretty easily pull it off. But they can’t admit that they’re only friends.

Legally speaking, it could be seen as a sham marriage.

For this reason, two friends who tie the knot and receive a marriage certificate can still face considerable risks. They expose themselves to criminal sanctions and civil penalties on grounds of “marriage fraud” if a federal or state agency becomes suspicious of the union. And they may also be denied benefits usually granted to married couples.

Read:

https://theconversation.com/friends-are-saying-i-do-but-might-not-understand-the-legal-risks-of-their-platonic-marriages-160514