ABA Family Legal Guide

Family Law

Marriage

Duties of Marriage

Does either spouse have a duty to work outside the home?

No. While the husband and wife are married and living together, a court is not going to get involved in private family decisions of who works and who does not. That's left to the husband and wife to sort out. Today, more than one-half of married women--including women with preschool-age children--work outside the home. A husband or wife cannot, as a matter of law, force his or her spouse to work.