Pros and cons of being married?

[Wowwhatalife]

I don’t mean in a romantic, emotional sense..just practical, money wise? What is there to be gained from being married? Especially if you have a child?
Are there and cons?

@EmpressCixi

That's interesting.

But this in particular is interesting:

More generally, the common finding that married people are happier than non-married people is in part due to selection bias: happier people are more likely to get married.

Why should happier people be more likely to get married? Again I suspect this is ultimately about economics: historically marriage was about status and shoring up family wealth. People who were wealthier were more likely to attract a mate and to make a favourable marriage.

Nowadays marriage is still about economics albeit not as obviously.

But its still not clear to me why you would be considered more likely to get married because you were happier. If anything logic would suggest that a happier and more secure individual should be less likely to embark on something which severely curtails their freedom and (in the case of the higher-earning partner), their financial wellbeing.

@thepeopleversuswork

Forget history, these studies are all done on men and women today. So the marriage contract where the Miller marries his daughter to the son of village baker so they can combine their business into a bread making family monopoly are long gone.

More generally, the common finding that married people are happier than non-married people is in part due to selection bias: happier people are more likely to get married.

You ask:
Why should happier people be more likely to get married?

I think this is obvious selection bias. You simply ask yourself who is most likely to get married....the couple that are miserable, or the couple that are happy? Doesn’t matter why the couple are unhappy...could be unemployment, health, or even they’re in abusive relationship. But point is that it makes perfect sense for unhappy couples to not get married and for happy couples to get married. I don’t think it’s saying that if a couple is happy, they are likely to get married. Because lots of happy couples never get married. I think it’s just saying that unhappy couples don’t get married and that creates selection bias.

Married people have relationship longevity.
Co-habiting is 90 percent assured to fail.

@Hrpuffnstuff1

Married people have relationship longevity. Co-habiting is 90 percent assured to fail.

hmm... what are you basing this 90% on?

Also the statistics don't bear out your assertion that married people have "relationship longevity". Nearly half of marriages fail.

I'm not saying people shouldn't get married but I'm questioning your assertion that being married automatically gives your relationship durability. Isn't it just that a marriage is harder to get out of than a cohabiting relationship? Doesn't necessarily mean the relationship is better, it often just means its too expensive and too cumbersome to untangle.

I think it’s just saying that unhappy couples don’t get married and that creates selection bias.

That makes sense.

[quote RandomLondoner]So, our son won’t pass on British citizenship if he has children? He has a British birth certificate and two British parents?

I've just been googling this, as I know people in this position. (Two generations born outside the UK.) The second generation can apply for British citizenship if they do so before the age of 18 and have lived in the UK with their parents for three years.

They may also be able to apply until aged 18 if the first generation lived in the UK for at least three years before they were born, haven't digested the rules in detail.

www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-british-parent/born-on-or-after-1-july-2006[/quote]
Thinking about it, it would be silly if people kept being able to pass it on (whatever country we are talking about) - there have to be some rules like must have lived in that country for x years as a child etc or you could be in a position where people could claim citizenship in countries because their great- grandparents were from there. For example my grandads' parents were Irish on both sides of the family- no one has lived there since. It would be silly if I could claim Irish citizenship.

www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2017/03/27/in-europe-cohabitation-is-stable-right/

worldfamilymap.ifstudies.org/2017/files/WFM-2017-FullReport.pdf

Similar studies came to the same conclusion marriage is significantly more stable than cohabiting.