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Getting married is a big step. It represents a whole lot more than who you're going to wake up with every morning. (Although finding someone you want to be with every day of your life, morning breath and all, is important too!) You're also going to have to decide what you're going to do about your home, your bank account and, of course, your car insurance.

The thing is, getting married comes with more than just a marriage license. It also comes with paperwork. Lots, and lots, of paperwork! The good news is, unless you want it to that paperwork doesn't necessarily have to affect your living situation, your finances or your car insurance coverage. That's entirely up to you.

When you get married you're going to want to move in together; however, whether you want to keep one house or the other or sell them both and buy one together is entirely up to you. You're not under any obligation to put your spouse's name on the deed to your house if you already own it, although your landlord is probably going to require that you put their name on the lease to your apartment if you haven't already done so.

They're kind of picky like that. It's been speculated that it's a matter of the amount of “stuff” you keep at each others' houses. When you were dating and/or engaged and may have kept a couple changes of clothes and a toothbrush at each others' houses it was fine, but the minute furniture gets involved you have to declare residency. Do you think the couch is where they draw the line?

Anyway, on to the bank account. You have a lot of options when it comes to your bank account. Many married couples choose to simply share a bank account, making it easy to pay for the household expenses. Other couples prefer to keep their own bank accounts, dividing the bills and keeping a joint savings account for vacations/big purchases/etc. Still others divide their finances entirely. The bottom line is that you're under no obligation to make your financial resources a joint endeavor. It just tends to work out better when you do.

Finally, let's talk car insurance. Again, you have a number of choices. If you and your spouse have separate policies through two different car insurance companies and you're both hopelessly devoted to your current carrier you could decide to keep your individual coverage; however, nine times out of ten it's both simpler and cheaper to consolidate your assets into a single policy. That way you're both covered if you need to swap vehicles for one reason or another, you only have to pay one car insurance bill every month and your car insurance rates drop because most insurers are under the impression that because you're married they're more stable.

If they only knew.