'Marriage' - are we becoming a tad obsessed?

the uk benefits are a bit different

Point taken, but it's not like marriage is a tradition solely associated with the UK, so even if these benefits don't apply to us in particular it's something to think about.

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Libertarian socialist. Equal distribution of power and the view that marriage is a result of inequality and is patriarchal. Workers owning the means of production does not mean I have to support witch hunts for minority relationships groups.

I believe Thatcher was big on social conservatism and was not a free love advocate

Thatcher wasn't a real libertarian basically.

Lighten up. I was merely drawing on the similarity between what you said about society and what Thatcher said - 'twasn't an attack on your politics.

Oh i don't disagree, that's there's many benefits to be considered compared to solely cohabiting. The only thing I've been able to do legally without us being married is having my fiance as my beneficiary on my life insurance policy, the rest could be contested without us being married i think.

Ah, I see. When my parents got married they didn't really think about the benefits, but now that they're in the process of divorce there's a lot that they might lose. More so because my mum isn't a British passport holder/my did isn't an Indonesian citizen, so once they divorce they have to start thinking about Visas.

There is a lot to lose by not being married, visas must be very stressful to deal with . It's a long story but as my parents divorced then got back together, then he died without a will so i got every penny, if they'd have remarried i wouldn't have had to pay our bills as a kid for a time .

Aw that's rough... My grandpa died when my mum was young and my grandma had a hard enough time paying back his debts, so I can't imagine the pressure you were under.

it wasn't great, we had an income from mums student loan but having to make those kinds of decisions at 9 is not a situation i'd want my kids or fiance to be in hence the life insurance and our will and poa's being sorted as soon as we're married.

Divorce rate is 42% and is at a 40 year low. its been falling for the last 13 years. Divorce rate isnt everything though and its much better people do so than stay n unhappy marriages imo.
Its still the most stable form of family unit, so yes it is very important.

Lol so you actually just confirmed my point like ten fold. Thank you

a) if divorce rate is 42% now and that's lowest its been in 40 years, then can only imagine how stratospherically high it has been in previous years. All the more reason to not get married.

a) if divorce rate is 42% now and that's lowest its been in 40 years, then that means for at least past 40 years marriage has been a sh*tty deal where c.50% of the people who go into it end up regretting it. All the more reason to not get married.

That's good then, and fiance? Dawwww

Yes,our weddings in October

It's just tradition really. You get be called husband and wife. Nothing more.

That being said, I would very much want marriage.

I got called "a disgusting person" yesterday for saying marriage was a terrible idea.