Especially when doing business internationally, one thing that can prove itself indispensable is knowing how marriage laws work in Virginia. It’s common knowledge that business owners must know the rules of engagement when dealing with the legal structures of new markets. And the same’s true for marriage for that matter; when you get hitched somewhere, you’ve to make sure that you’ve abiding by the law of the land. Well, it’s not all that dissimilar when it comes to businesses being established through joint legal or corporate enterprises between two (or more) parties. For instance, when you’re looking to scale up through partnerships in one country with a local player, the very foundation of your entire business venture may hinge on the nuances of marriage in the area.

Here’s how: Let’s say you’re in Virginia, and you’ve been running a successful app development firm slaying the mobile games market. Now, you’re keen on finally entering the territory of an investor that you’ve been eying for the past couple of years. They’ve finally come on board, but there’s a caveat: they want to bring along their spouse. And they would like it to be a marriage of sorts. So, you need to understand how legal marriage works in virginia. Now, here, it would be pertinent to mention the key concept of this article – the virginia law for marriage. The Virginia Family Code defines marriage as a “civil contract entered into by a male and a female with the intention of a permanent and complete union as spouses.” Therefore, it’s clear that the law only recognizes heterosexual and monogamous marriages. And that’s something you should be absolutely clear about before drafting your agreement.

That said though, marriage laws in virginia are also notable for their benefits to the employers when hiring their spousal units in the business. For instance, in Virginia, by virtue of state law, family members don’t have to be on payroll when the company is being run. Moreover, if you’ll be employing your partner, then they’ll be subject to the same withholding liabilities that you are as an employer; the government will not scrutinize the matter any further. On top of that, the government won’t be imposing any additional taxes on you due to the fact that you and your partner may be a married couple. So, you’ll be subject to business taxes individually.

One of the ancillary benefits that you may experience upon entering into a marriage-equivalent business arrangement with a local player from virginia is funding support. The minimum business partnership requirements in virginia are just as lenient as its hiring requirements, and that may just be the differentiating factor you need to succeed there. Not only does the state encourage the formation of local partnerships through lower-than-average taxation, but the government also provides grants, low-interest loans, and other small business programs so local businesses can grow. So, as long as you’re okay with the government having access to your finances, virginia is good to go.

However, it may not be the best place to do business should you want to bring in parties with different proprietary interests. That’s because virginia law doesn’t take too kindly to ownership stakes. Solely, there are no limits upon the parties regarding the percentage amount of contributions of each party. However, virginia is not friendly toward assigning a specific value or interest to particular contributions. Also, as per the virginia Uniform Partnership Act, except in a general partnership, “no partner is entitled to receive, from a limited liability partnership, any part of the partnership’s property, or to receive distributions from the partnership before its termination.”