Yahoo’s Case Against Remarriage

It is not that often that there is an article that highlights the benefits and trends for individuals whom elect not to remarry. Thus a syndicated piece on Yahoo’s financial portal caught my attention and a recap seemed worth of sharing with this site’s guests. Please keep in mind that I do not personally advocate for or am against the contents and ideas shared, but the information is possibly of value to readers.

The piece discusses a segment of the population that is referenced to as a ‘growing minority of Americans’ whom find someone they but make the decision to cohabit rather than officially tie the knot. Statistics from the Census Bureau that approximately half those divorced later remarried and the writer comments that this number generally dropped for the past decade.

Originally appearing on Smart Money the author infers a connection between this ratio and the current economic state of the country. This is done by highlighting specific cases and scenarios where the couples benefits financially if they are against remarriage and instead choose to cohabitate.

One reason stated is the potential loss of alimony payments from an ex-spouse that one is likely to lose if remarried. Another consideration pointed out is that the total household and ex-spouse’s incomes are looked at by colleges; thus with a higher total income the person’s child is less likely to receive tuition assistance based upon this factor. Another items addressed is the losing the potential to claim assets of an ex-spouse’s if the individual passes away. Additionally it is suggested that individuals consider the financial need for an ex’s pension or social security benefits.

All these seem fairly cold and calculated, but such is life in many cases. Thus I rather arm this blog’s readers with these insights than for individuals not to realize these potential consequences. Even though marriage is generally not intended as a financial transaction there are concrete financial items to take into account before remarriage after a divorce.

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