SusanofO
Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005 Status: offline
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Guess, I vote for (overall, on balance) being married before giving someone else complete and unfettered, all-out control over all money. That's my opinion. Maybe someone will come along and change it, but I doubt it. I am not referring here to a Dominant telling a submissive to pay their portion of the bills, or doling out $50 a week in "pin or spending money", or controlling "smaller amounts", or even turning over their pay-check to their Master (depending on if they have auto-deduct for investments forwaded to another account, and other things). I am talking about things like co-signing house and car loans, and handling someone else's investments for them, having access to their bank accounts, and-or counting on them to plan your retirement nest-egg, etc. Decisions that have the potential for long-term consequences. Reason: My sister is a divorce attorney. On the whole, I don't see M/s relationships as being that much different than "vanilla" realtionships when it comes to total screw-ups, bad judgments, and unforeseen endings. Marriage can be a huge risk, and in many ways, IMO, is no different from an all-out M/s relationship financially. But marriage, IMO, overall, it can also afford (providing I'd trust a partner pretty much to begin with, which is a given, if I'd want to marry them in the first place) more protection if their partner does something completely wacko with the funds, or if they suddenly (or even slowly) "become a lot different than the partner I thought I knew and completely trusted." Some might argue differently, but that is not according to the information to which I have been exposed. Again, this depends on many things, and I am speaking of myself, how I see my own circumstances, and what I would do, only. Each situation, I am sure, has its own nuances. Of course if someone has a pre-nuptial agreement, what they do if the relationship ends is spelled out in it. I am not sure if I would do this or not (have one of those). I have heard (very infrequently) of people having "co-habiting agreements" that do hold up legally, but am pretty sure one would need to consult an attorney to draw one up properly, or find out when they have been most valuable in any court of law. Maybe they do exist, but I've not read much about them. Yes, a "contract" (outside of a marriage contract) may well not hold up on court, and not be worth the paper it is written on. Any contract law attorneys out there? - Susan
< Message edited by SusanofO -- 2/27/2007 7:08:17 PM >
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"Hope is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson
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