5. Marital status

Ask these questions for all of the persons, independent of their age or other situation:

Question 5: Civil status

For this characteristic, you should mark the box that corresponds according to the definitions that appear on the form and with the given information in the following paragraphs.

Take into account that for persons who are younger than 14 years old, you should mark the small box 6 with an X, indicating for persons 14 years old or older the civil status that corresponds to them (single, married, consensual union, divorced, etc.).

In any case, you should write the current civil status. For example, if a person has separated from his or her spouse and currently lives in a consensual union with another person, he or she should be classified as "consensual union" because this is the civil status on the census date.

Single is the person who has never contracted legal marriage, excepting those who live in consensual unions who are living in "consensual union."

Married is the person who contracted legal marriage and continues in it, even when at the date of the census they are separated but without having divorced. In consequence, in this group you should include the "married but separated" and those who have legalized their "common-law marriage."

"Consensual union" refers to a couple who lives in a consensual union without the tie of any marriage, its member constitute it, alone or with their relatives, as a well-defined family. It is a delicate question, for which you should proceed with tact during the interview, avoiding discussions or expressions that can ruin the work.

Widow is that person who has not contracted legal matrimony since that date of death of his or her spouse, nor is living in a consensual union at the census day. If the person has remarried or lives in a consensual union, you should indicate his or her current civil status.

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Divorced is the person who has dissolved his or her marriage in definitive form through the legal process, as long as he or she has not remarried or does not live in a consensual union.

In the investigation of this aspect, in general some factors come up, derived from the tendency to maintain certain social prestige, which make it difficult to have a clear idea of the true situation. The enumerator should avoid suggesting answers to the informant, especially in the cases of the person who is divorced or in a consensual union. In this way, he or she will avoid causing an unfavorable environment for the interviewer, when the informant is susceptible in this sense.

When two persons inform that they are married, but the wife, when giving her name, does not add the last name of the husband, it is convenient to clarify if they are really married or not, since in some places the wives do not have the custom of taking the husband's name. If you confirm that they are married, following the last name of the woman you will write the last name of the husband preceded by "of."

For this reasons, and always when the enumerator suspects that the informants are not married, you should find out, with much caution, the true situation, without insisting in a way that could displease the informant, which is a situation that could be counterproductive for the rest of the investigation.