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Western Laws for Marriage

T

The Green Bean

Diamond Member
I have found it puzzling that while the West claims to promote individual freedom, their marriage and divorce laws are moving in the opposite direction. Why can't married couples have their finances totally separate from each other? After a divorce neither should owe the other anything. It is beyond ridiculous that a marriage lasting mere hours may make the divorcée a millionaire.

Even Islam (which most here perceive here to be backward) has laws for the easy devolution of a marriage. The only thing anyone owes is dower (if unpaid--that is the decided amount to be given by the male to the female) and variable "maintenance" for a year.

Would it not make much more sense if getting married was not such a big deal? I mean lesser and lesser Americans want to get married and most if not all reasons have some financial reasoning.
 
If there's a trend, American divorce laws are actually moving towards more financial independence. There was a thread about this recently. There's a popular misconception that if you're married for a year your wife can quit her job after the divorce and live high on the hog. That's not the case.

Nobody's forced to get married. Everyone is welcome to talk to a lawyer about the laws of their states before they making a lifelong commitment. People are free to have children out of wedlock, for example.
 
WelshBloke said:
Marriage is not obligatory over here, you wont get stoned for sleeping with your partner if you're not married.
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What is the disadvantage of getting married except potential financial liability? Why does marriage legally exist anyway? Why would anyone get married if not for religious purposes? "To show love" is a stupid answer--it's not worth getting married even if there is a 0.01% chance of a divorce that would take away half your life earnings. You don't have to prove to someone you love him/her by getting married.

Marriage in my opinion is more to show everybody else rather than personal preference. IF (if) marriage was just a piece of paper with no potential liability, how would it be different from say having a girlfriend? Is that not what most Americans want anyway?

American marriage seems more like financial bonding to me and of no real value.
 
RabidMongoose said:
Why are people talking about stoning? That's not a western law for marriage.
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TGB's thread has two avenues. One, he attempts to prove Western marriage as being a flawed system. Two, he attempts to elevate the Islamic system of marriage. Therefore, he has opened Islamic marriage to discussion, and corporeal punishment or capital punishment for various activities does become open to discussion.
 
The Green Bean said:
I have found it puzzling that while the West claims to promote individual freedom, their marriage and divorce laws are moving in the opposite direction. Why can't married couples have their finances totally separate from each other? After a divorce neither should owe the other anything. It is beyond ridiculous that a marriage lasting mere hours may make the divorcée a millionaire.

Even Islam (which most here perceive here to be backward) has laws for the easy devolution of a marriage. The only thing anyone owes is dower (if unpaid--that is the decided amount to be given by the male to the female) and variable "maintenance" for a year.

Would it not make much more sense if getting married was not such a big deal? I mean lesser and lesser Americans want to get married and most if not all reasons have some financial reasoning.
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This is an interesting topic. Thanks for starting it.

I think that if the couple has children, then they obviously cannot be totally separated from each other because there is likely some child support involved.

You make some good points. However, I think a one year "maintenance" period is rather short. That doesn't seem like enough time for the partner earning less, or with less education, to at least try to get to a level of the previous lifestyle. Perhaps a 5-year maintenance window would be better. I'm picking 5 years because this would be 1-year beyond the time needed to obtain a traditional undergraduate degree.
 
the government should treat all individuals as individuals regardless of the lifenchoice to marry/union with another.
 
The Green Bean said:
You can not compare what is being done in Somalia to Islamic jurisprudence.
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Why not? Let's quote the article...

In the first such public killing by the militants in about two years, she was placed in a hole and stoned to death on Oct. 28 in a rebel-held port city, Kismayu, in front of a crowd, after local leaders said she was guilty under Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Koran.
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That SURE AS FUCK sounds to me like "Islamic jurisprudence".
 
WelshBloke said:
The OP mentions both western and Islamic sides to marriage. IMO therefore he is inviting people to comment on the contrasting attitudes to marriage between the two cultures.
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Islam was just brought up in the alternative, to give the issue of western laws for marriage more context. The issue is western laws for marriage, not about islamic laws for marriage.

Anyways, I am still confused as to why he posted a link about that kardashian person. Did she or did he receive money from their short marriage? I don't keep up with celebrity gossip.
 
Seems like the OP is about financial arrangements during and following the dissolution of marriage. As such, I hope the following is on topic.

I recall reading an article about reform of alimony laws from a few weeks ago. There is a trend in the United States to rewrite the laws since they are from a bygone era.

Should alimony laws be changed?

In targeted states, alimony laws are decades old. They were written when divorce was rare, and when most women did not work outside the home and faced possible impoverishment after divorce.
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It seems several states are currently in the process of reviewing their laws.
 
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