Financial and legal considerations before marriage


II got mail again, this time from parents in Frankfurt, about a question that’s been going through my head for years. What do you think of a marriage license for children who want to marry? You read that right, dear reader, the question is whether people in love should be required to take a course on the legal and economic consequences of marriage before going to the registry office. Before you roll your eyes, please let the matter go through your head for two days. After that you can hit the roof, but maybe you will come to the conclusion that the idea is not so bad after all, loosely based on the maxim: If you want to drive a car, you have to go to a driving school, and if you want to get married, you don’t have to to marriage school, but has to be informed about the financial and legal consequences of the marriage.

My professorial companion from Holstein is of the opinion that the comparison is flawed, that the car and marriage are not comparable. In traffic without a driver’s license there is a risk of harming the general public, in a marriage without a certificate it “only” affects the partner and the children, which is still a disaster. I have a different opinion. In Germany, every third marriage ends, and in many cases the consequences are devastating, not only for those involved but also for the general public.



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