What are some tangible benefits of getting married?

[DB_Hunter]

Marriage is a societal institution that's been around for ages. Its purpose is to be a component in regulating relationships between men and women. In Islam, it's just a legal contract that outlines the responsibilities the people in the relationship have to one another plus a few other bits. That said, I don't think it would be much of a stretch to say that's what marriage for all faiths is supposed to be like.

Is there a benefit to getting married? I think they question should be, "Is there a benefit to getting married in this day and age?"

Well in the Western world not really. You can have the discussions like ones above about tax benefits etc but I don't think one of these arguments really outweighs the other. Since cohabiting without being married is an accepted norm there is no need for marriage.

It is interesting though how, in the UK anyway, there are some bits of legislation that were (maybe are, I'm not sure) being discussed as to how unmarried couples should have things such as inheritence rights and the custody of children defined under law.

Kind of ironic in my opinion that people are even considering regulating unmarried relationships after rebelling against the concept of marriage. You already have the concept of pre nuptials. Seems to be that people have simply changed religions.... That which we call a rose would by any other name still smell as sweet?

[dragonrage]

Well so far there haven't been any definitive point. But I guess there isn't any.

DB_hunter. Interesting statements. Also you should note that prenuptial agreements have expiry dates on them as well.

[gr3atfull]

Well....

Let say that there is this unmarried couple and they have a child. If the man leaves, he does not have to pay any child support. But, if they were married, he has to pay child support.

In conclusion : marriage forces the couple to be loyal to each other in a way (in my opinion). If one of the partner is disloyal and they weren't married, what can the other one do? Nothing. Marriage is a way to play it fair.

Hope that helps you.

[dragonrage]

nope, even if you aren't married you can make the other person pay child support, granted it might be harder but it is possible. Also faithfulness, loyalty, monogamy and other things like these aren't tangible nor are the guaranteed by marriage.

[Assassin]

which is exactly why i said no. There are many things that are harder to do if you're not married, but none that are completely impossible. Ofcourse, you could consider the ease with which such things can be accomplished a tangible benifit, but its kinda borderline.

[Mae]

If there are no additional benefits then why are gay couples so determined to make gay marriage legal? I'm not really familiar with this debate, but obviously they think they're missing out on something.

[dragonrage]

lol

Off-topic.

Mae, In their case it is about Equal rights and well establishing themselves legally and in other aspects of society.

[yallo]

Maybe it's just due to the unique laws in Singapore, but there actually seems to be quite a lot of benefits to be married here.

1) You cannot buy a brand new flat/apartment (i.e. public housing) if you are not married or about to get married (you have to produce your marriage cert within 3 months of purchase). Only exceptions are if you are sharing the house with your parents/siblings. You can only purchase an old flat on the resale market if you are single. And even then, you have to be 35 years old or older to be eligible for that.

2) Married couples get an extra "grant" from the government (worth $40,000) to offset the cost of the flat if they stay within 2km of their parents. If you are single and buy a flat just next door to your parents, sorry dude, no grant given.

3) If you are married and have kids, the children are eligible to recieve a one-off "Baby Bonus" from the government (basically cash gifts in the range of $3000 to $6000 per kid). I believe the parents have to be legally married for the baby to be eligible.

Eh hopefully none of the information is wrong here.... any comments, Psyke? Since you are married and should know much more details than me...

[XanBcoo]

If there are no additional benefits then why are gay couples so determined to make gay marriage legal? I'm not really familiar with this debate, but obviously they think they're missing out on something.

Heh, it's possible you just nailed the topic the guy starting the original discussion was trying to get at.

Personally, I've always seen Marriage as a matter of personal preference, and (as concluded so far in this thread) something not completely neccessary.

You can't have a society believing in sexual freedom and at the same time expect marriage to work. If you don't do things like forbid adultry and fornication then marriage loses its value.

The divorce rate in the U.S. at the moment (~50%) says you're right, but I think it's possible for a couple to believe in "sexual freedom" while they're single and still desire to eventually be devoted to a single partner (in a set-in-stone relationship). There are also married "swinger" couples who embrace each extreme . If there really are no monetary benefits, then clearly marriage can serve many other purposes.

[itadakimasu]

aside from secks everyday... and not having to cook for yourself everyday...tangible... is happiness tangible? oh.. i have it, she can buy me anime

[Assertn]

Actually.....something i'd have to look into more....but you can file for joint ownership of real-estate with a spouse, with one person spending more than 50% of their time on real-estate while the other dealing with another business or employment...then any passive liability from the real-estate end can become tax-writeoffs against he business/employment end.

This is of course, assuming that marriage plays a role in the ability to arrange such joint ownerships.

[Turkish-S]

Also if you fall in love with someone from another country it will be easyer to get her to your own country if you are married.

[Winged Dancer]

Tangible benefits?

The gifts you get at the ceremony LOL

No, really, that's probably about it. So now you know, when/if you get married, to ask for worthwhile things....

Like, I don't know, a nice DVD player, or a Blu-ray player maybe, perhaps convince a few of your friends or family to get you a home theather or a quality stereo, a state-of-the-art computer....

Or if you're s realist, you can ask for all the crap you'll need for your married life. Dish-washer, washing machine, drier, cutlery, pots & pans, uh, spice rack, a hired maid... and the home theather again.

Just remember, don't ask for crap. You don't need a set of silver cake-knifes, nor do you need a Chinese vase from some dinasty or other. It's the only time you'll get to ask for things, don't waste it!

(if you divorce and remarry a number of times, you probably shouldn't expect many gifts, btw)