In this country, approximately 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. If you never marry in the first place, no legal fees, no courts and no paperwork… you simply walk away, and go to a different court to divide assets if need be. Til death do us part? More like until the attorney fees are paid and bitterness ensues.
Common Law Marriage is not recognized legally in Maryland. It does not matter if you have lived with your partner for decades, have children and share land. So what is the point of marriage?
Whether you’re a husband or a wife and have endured physical, emotional or mental abuse for any period—or just plain hate each other—is wrong. The state of Maryland dictates that to obtain an absolute divorce, you must be legally separated for six months to a year, depending on circumstances.
If a wife has minor children and the husband is abusive and refuses to leave the home, the wife is forced to take the children out of their living environment and possibly go to a women’s shelter for refuge. There are usually not many options in the way of a single parent trying to flee an abusive situation fearing for their safety and reside in a place where the abusive spouse could not track down.
Some people get legally married for religion, tradition or tax breaks. If it’s for religion, you break a religious oath through divorce. Traditionally, there’s nothing traditional about divorce. Receiving a tax break and better insurance—completely, temporarily understandable. Plus there’s always the happy ending of alimony or child support.
People take vows but do they mean or even understand what they’re saying? Perhaps the biggest problem is that men should be the head of the household and now that women are becoming the breadwinners, it’s the male ego that’s deterring these vows.
Do you believe in the sanctity of marriage or that it is a certain financial and emotional demise?
