Quote:
Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick
People get married for a zillion different reasons - why they do it is not for anyone to judge. I certainly hope Atticus is not one of those "some people" you are referring to because I don't think he is that stupid. However, sometimes when he goes on with that cloying "married life = kids" dreck I wonder.
Edited to note that at this moment due to a court decision of yesterday, there are thousands of gay couples applying for marriage licenses in Canada. I do not think that having kids, the unnatural state of monogamy, divorce or contempt are on their minds.
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What with many companies offering benefits to "significant others" now or else both people working and eligible for their own benefits it seems like the only reason to get married without children is the joint tenancy with right of survivorship rules some states have for homes. That, and I guess the passing of certain other property without taxation. Short of that, you can end up getting screwed on taxes. If you own a home you aren't likely taking ths standard deduction so the governments effort to do away with the marriage penalty is no benefit. I earn a lot more than my hubby but then he gets sucked into my tax bracket when we file (I tried the married filing separate thing but got no relief either). What the government should do is have one form and let each person file as an individual with the same rates whether you are married or single and you don't get sucked into your spouse's tax bracket. But for that marriage certificate, I could file alone with all of the itemized deductions and hubby could file alone with a standard deduction so why should we be penalized for taking the vows?
edited to note that I am no expert on estates and trusts and such but I vaguely recall there being a benefit to being married in that regard. It does not seem, however, that there are any other "legal" benefits over shacking up together.
