system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: I don't believe there is a benefit to getting married.

I really don't believe there is a large benefit to getting married these days. This post is influenced by a disagreement with my significant other who believes that marriage is a very important part of a relationship and would not have children out of marriage.


Some background information on us:

She is a P.Eng student and I am an accountant. We are Canadian and would qualify for a common law marriage status in Canada. We currently have all of our finances split and would continue to do so if married. For reasons I completely agree with, she would not take my name if we married. If we had children we would split the time 50/50 taking time off work until the children would be old enough for daycare or babysitting to the point we could continue work. In our arguments we assume that I (the male) would have a higher income in the future, simply because of our current job arrangements that are estimated to around the same rate in the future. If we split I presume we would share custody of children evenly.


I believe that there is no longer any real benefit to marriage. I believe there is more cost than benefit to a marriage ceremony. Most of the legal benefits from marriage in Canada can be mitigated through legal frameworks if we choose to do so. My significant other is firm that a relationship without a marriage is not a dedicated relationship but I simply cannot understand this point of view. I think if two people love each other and have financial and legal freedom it would be better not to marry, however I would really like you to change my view.

[EDIT]: I should state that I think the emotional aspects of a marriage can still be there without a legal contract.
gpt
Marriage can be a way around the prisoner's dilemma. It's a promise from each party that they are primarily committed to the interests of the partnership, rather than to their own self-interests. Given that assurance, each party can work to increase the partnership's well-being, which will generally be beneficial to each party individually. Absent that assurance, the cost of contributing to the partnership is higher, because neither party can be confident that their investments of time and money will be returned.