All We Need Is Love Right??
Wrong….. I have met many women and men who look at intimate relationships as just that. Once the subject of Marriage is brought up, the first thing that you hear is: All We Need Is Love, I (we) don’t need a piece of paper to define our relationship. I (we) don’t need a piece of paper to solidify our relationship because we love each other and “WE” know what it is.
I have heard this so many times, and it bothers me a little bit. Here is why! Picture this: You are with your significant other for over 20 years, you guys may or may not have children. You guys have built a home together, you have established yourselves in this “relationship”, You guys have furnished the home, were equal in the upkeep, traveled the world together, and have completely built a life. God forbid, something happens and one or the other doesn’t survive. For the last 25 years you have constantly stated that you didn’t need a piece of paper to define your relationship and you guys were fine with that. The inevitable happens. Not even 24 hours of whatever the incident is and the significants others family is at the door. Of course they came to support you, because you have been with them for 20 plus years and you are the main thing…….
Guess what??????? The smoke has cleared and now it’s time to start making decisions and deciding what has to happen. Remember y’all built your lives together, so those 2 cars in the driveway may be in your significant others name (maybe they got a better interest rate, or y’all didn’t want it taken or counted in child support) whatever the reason, the cars are in the other person’s name, now the family is asking for the keys, same with the house. Maybe one or the other got a better interest rate on the home, maybe they bought the home while the two of you were on a break and when y’all came back together, you moved in, and they promised you that it was your home as well. Yep that’s right, they (the family) want the keys to the home as well. You try to tell them that most of the furnishings in the home, you bought and a high percentage of everything belongs to you. Yea, they hear you, but the home is paid for and they need you out, as they are going to sell it as they need the money.
You tell them that your significant other wants to buried in a certain place, a certain way, with a certain type of flower, and the family (next of kin) decide that they want your loved one cremated. Your lucky if you even get an invitation to the service. Oh did I mention that they may not have seen or talked to their family member in years.
If this were to happen, you would be left with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I am not completely sure why people are so quick to be with someone and think that all they need is Love. People are so in Love, that they don’t think about the bigger picture. It’s kind of like what I talked about in “Time of Death”, no one wants to think about what if? what happens if something happens to you? It is a lot easier to talk about all the fun times, and talk about that nothing is going to happen and y’all don’t need a piece of paper to define your love. Well news flash: you don’t need a piece of paper to prove your love for the other person, but you do however need a piece of paper to help protect the life that you have built with your significant other.
I am not here and this post is not to bash people that don’t believe in getting married, or those that don’t want to get married. The point of it all is to either “Get Married” or at the very least, please make sure that your assets are protected and you and your significant other have a Will, and other paperwork in place, so in the event of something happening all the ducks are in a row, and you as the surviving partner can maintain what is rightfully yours, and no one can just swoop in and take it from you.
To hear more about this topic and many more, please follow me on Relationship Rule, Our Rules|Our Way Facebook page, and please subscribe to the Podcast by the same name.