Marriage vs. Living Together
Marriage vs. Living Together
Marriage is the legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife. It can also be between two people of the same sex, with legal obligations to each other. A union between two people that is recognized by custom or religious tradition is a marriage. Older generations would think that living together was forbidden. The only way that living together was tolerated is to be married. In the 2000 era times have changed tremendously. Several differences between being married and living together are status in the government, status in the religious community, and status in each others eyes and each others families eyes.
Taxes have there advantages on both sides in their different ways. The advantage to taxes as a married couple is only one exemption. If the situation is just living together there are a few more exemptions. For Example head of household, child tax credit, and a lower tax bracket. Owning a home when living together is difficult, because if it is not in just one persons name or if the couple does not get married and splits up it is hard to divide the equities. Also children are a big factor too. If children are conceived or adopted there is the issue of who gets the kids for visitation and on which days. When you are married or even living together the children are both of the parents responsibility, not just one parent at a time. Health insurance is another big deciding factor because of premiums and benefits. The premium tends to be a little bit more for 2 people instead of one. But it is well worth it just getting one policy instead of 2.
In the religious community most churches want couples to be married before they live together. Catholic, Christian, Baptist or any other religion likes for couples to be engaged for at least a year and go to counseling before a church will even consider having the wedding in their sanctuary. Get married in the Baptist Church is a serious undertaking and it requires much
Marriage is the legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife. It can also be between two people of the same sex, with legal obligations to each other. A union between two people that is recognized by custom or religious tradition is a marriage. Older generations would think that living together was forbidden. The only way that living together was tolerated is to be married. In the 2000 era times have changed tremendously. Several differences between being married and living together are status in the government, status in the religious community, and status in each others eyes and each others families eyes.
Taxes have there advantages on both sides in their different ways. The advantage to taxes as a married couple is only one exemption. If the situation is just living together there are a few more exemptions. For Example head of household, child tax credit, and a lower tax bracket. Owning a home when living together is difficult, because if it is not in just one persons name or if the couple does not get married and splits up it is hard to divide the equities. Also children are a big factor too. If children are conceived or adopted there is the issue of who gets the kids for visitation and on which days. When you are married or even living together the children are both of the parents responsibility, not just one parent at a time. Health insurance is another big deciding factor because of premiums and benefits. The premium tends to be a little bit more for 2 people instead of one. But it is well worth it just getting one policy instead of 2.
In the religious community most churches want couples to be married before they live together. Catholic, Christian, Baptist or any other religion likes for couples to be engaged for at least a year and go to counseling before a church will even consider having the wedding in their sanctuary. Get married in the Baptist Church is a serious undertaking and it requires much