Hello again, One keeps hearing moans about families hit hard when one of the parties dies suddenly. Inheritance rights crop up frequently which usually means money. Folk gripe about affairs costing them money & red tape. They apparently want the small number of tangible benefits of the "Marriage Club", but without paying the membership fee!
The Tax man rubs the hands in delight when the non-members succumb to the ravages of time or sickness, withnall of the estate liable for tax.
A fair number of celebrity cohabiting couples go weak on their principles and get spliced, merely to reduce their tax bill. Sir Ken Dodd being a notable example of late, Lady Anne was able to avoid millions in tax by merely getting hitched.
A friend of mine recently lost his wife, but even then he was faced with administrative hurdles to overcome. To get the Bereavement Grant he had to jump through the hoops, but alas he had lost their Marriage Lines, so had to lay out serious money for speedy service from the GRO, pretty horrible at that time.
The whole system has be distorted in the last 60 years, remember the days when one could only claim for child allowance through the Tax office on presentation of the said marriage line. These days the mortar that used to hold society together has gone. Try imagining doing family history hence forth, with little reliable paperwork. BD&M's without certificates is horrible even now, but in our future failing system it will create real issues.
After 44+ years in wedlock I can really feel genuine benefits from the process, SWMBO gives me a purpose in life, which has real health prolonging plusses, provable by statistics!
As the old joke used to go -"7s & 6p, A dog licence and a marriage licence, was she worth it?" You bet!
MM