Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazuela
Because in some states, if your beloved non-wife is hospitalized and her darling daughter shows up and forbids you from visiting her, you aren't allowed to visit her. Even if she's dying. And then when it's time to settle the estate, it's a bloody mess when daughter gets everything in her mother's name - including her mother's half of the house you are living in.
Then there's the whole "married filing jointly" issue for taxes. And social security payments to widows/widowers.
Marriage is a legal contract that comes with benefits non-married couples aren't entitled to.
I love my husband dearly and am glad to call him husband, and live with him til death do we part. But that marriage contract protects each of us, and both of us as a couple and a potential widow/widower.
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Jazuela, the points you are making here become an interesting addition to my little “advice column” post earlier.
When I was talking about living together vs. marriage later in life, I was thinking of situations in which social security and/or pension benefits or maybe even health insurance from an earlier spouse would stop upon remarriage. Those things can happen.
You bring up a really good point about healthcare decisions. I don’t know for sure but I am guessing that if choosing to live together rather than marry because of losing financial benefits, a trip to an attorney to get healthcare powers-of-attorney in place, as well as other things, could be a wise thing to do. A life-estate, if the house is owned by just one of the two, would be something to look into also.
Each of the choices certainly has pros and cons and, of course, varies by circumstance. I don’t know the answers, but a committed couple who chooses not to marry but live together should find out how to protect themselves from a mess like the one you used as an example.
Good points, Jazuela.