Marriage is a universal institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. This union is regulated by society, and society's laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes prescribe the rights and duties of the man and woman. Marriage is found within so many different societies probably because it satisfies so many basic social and personal needs. One of marriage's most crucial functions is to lay the foundation for the family. Successful child rearing requires extensive parental involvement and the cooperation of both parents.
Marriage provides the framework that makes such cooperation possible.
Hence marriage plays a vital role in ensuring the procreation of human beings and the preservation of their societies. The importance placed on the institution of marriage can be seen in the elaborate and complex customs and rituals that surround it. Although these laws and rituals are as varied and numerous as the social and cultural organizations that invented them, they have many elements in common. In every society the main legal function of marriage regards the couple's children. Marriage ensures the children's rights and entitles them to the traditional communal privileges, including the right of inheritance.