Why do women crave marriage so much??

[wilyone 11]

You can leave your entire estate to anyone you please, but there will be estate tax paid on it.

 

A spouse, and only a spouse, receives the entire estate (if it is designated that way) TAX FREE.

 

HUGE DIFFERENCE.

 

The entire estate? With no limits? That would certainly be a benefit.

 

In the meantime my dual-income married friends are paying an extra $30K per year in income taxes. It's amazing that the marriage penalty has not yet been abolished. Over 25 earning years, that is HUGE. $750k in present value.

 

Imagine if you invested $750K over 25 years and let it accumulate for another 20 years..... i think it would cover the estate tax....

 

I know married people who have divorced (and stayed together) just to avoid this dumb penalty.

[lerenard]

I never actually craved marriage. I think it has something to do with the fact that my parents are almost the only example of a happy marriage I ever saw. Most of my friends have divorced parents, my aunt is divorced, my granny, my sister divorced 2 times already...I agree that it probably gives some protection to fall back to, some sense of security, but I also know a lot of people who`s relationships went straight down the hill after their wedding.

I am not in a rush, I am just 25, my mom, granny and sister were all married by this time and had kids already. Big part of my classmates has kids or had married. Its definitely a pressure we have in society and as far as I noticed it is mostly on women! If you are a guy in your 30es it is considered OK, and you have plenty of time, but if you are a woman - your clock is ticking, and if you don't want kids or a wedding - there is something wrong with you.

I do want some kind of ceremony at some point. It doesn't need to be official or big. But I would love to exchange vows with my beloved, surrounded by our closest people, somewhere in the nature. No churches or city halls needed.

[mhowe]

The entire estate? With no limits? That would certainly be a benefit.

 

In the meantime my dual-income married friends are paying an extra $30K per year in income taxes. It's amazing that the marriage penalty has not yet been abolished. Over 25 earning years, that is HUGE. $750k in present value.

 

Imagine if you invested $750K over 25 years and let it accumulate for another 20 years..... i think it would cover the estate tax....

 

I know married people who have divorced (and stayed together) just to avoid this dumb penalty.

 

Without getting into the details...that wouldn't solve the problem, as that money is part of the estate.

There are limits, but there are work around a.

 

Your friends pay more married because their combined income bumps them into a higher tax bracket. The $20k difference is their own specific issue, not a universal problem of a $30k difference simply because they marries.

[lilypadgirl]

I'm like you - I am mostly independent and financially stable by myself. But I also crave marriage.

 

I think it has to do with craving security and stability - knowing that I will be with the person I love for the rest of my life. Not needing to think about the dating process again and can just put roots down. And of course can have children and start to "nest".

 

So for me, it actually has nothing to do with the legal definition of marriage (i.e., I don't need a marriage license or anything and if I do, it will be for purely practical purposes) and everything to do with the romanticized concept of marriage.

[mhowe]

Except marriage doesn't equal stability and security.

[lilypadgirl]

Completely agree - so I think it's that romanticized concept that I guess we're exposed to since childhood ends up equating the two.

[Hermes]

IMO the concept of marriage has changed quite a lot, for a variety of reasons. In my own country it is rare to find a couple (married or in a partnership) where both spouses are not working. That is how life is, two lots of wages are needed to pay for the ever-increasing cost of living. And of course women who have spent years studying for a profession/career naturally enough want to work at that career.

 

Actually one needs to be quite hard-headed going into marriage, and throw away the rose-coloured spectacles. The unfortunate thing is that there are many who do not think through the type of undertaking involved.

 

I think this is interesting:

"Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Chicago, Finkel said that most couples struggle because the change in demands calls for more investment in marriage in an age when many people have less time on their hands.

 

"People used to marry for basic things like food and shelter. In the 1800s, you didn't have to have profound insight into your partner's core essence to tend to the chickens or build a sound physical structure against the snow," Finkel said. "Back then, the idea of marrying for love was ludicrous."

 

"In 2014, you are really hoping that your partner can help you on a voyage of discovery and personal growth, but your partner cannot do that unless he or she really knows who you are, and really understands your core essence. That requires much greater investment of time and psychological resources," he said."

 

Excerpt from:

 

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