I think if you follow the argument back, we were originally talking about "why marry at all"?
Message 20914392
Marriage does restrict freedoms, but also gives benefits.
For example, if you are the sole breadwinner while your lover goes through med school, he can say "thank you very much" when he gets his diploma, and go on his merry way. But if you put your husband through med school, you've got a pretty fair shot at a lump sum.
Whether you want that lump sum or not, it's there for you.
If you help your lover start a pizza parlor that becomes a successful chain of pizza parlors, at the end of the day, he can tell you "thank you very much", but if you were married, at the end of the day, you've got a pretty fair shot at a share in a pizza parlor business.
Whether you want that or not, it's there for you.
Considering that in most small mom-and-pop businesses, neither the husband nor the wife takes an actual salary, this is only fair.
If you've been married for ten years, when your husband retires, you can get a share of his Social Security, or you can keep working. Your decision.
And so forth.
In most states, if you are married when your spouse dies, you can't even be disinherited. Your spouse may be able to disinherit the kids, but not you. |
