I think having some sort of legal recognition and protection of families, provided by the state, is generally a good thing. I think providing social security survivor benefits, and making people responsible for their children, are both good things that can be pushed so far that they hit the crazy blogosphereic circle. I’m totally open to overhauling how the state does recognizes families, and who is eligible.

Now it is in writing, for teh whole Internets to contemplate. But I don’t think that’s what you meant.

We don’t have a big written contract about the lottery, although we did do that when I loaned Jill some of her share of the downpayment on our old condo (0%, forgiven over however many years of gift tax limits it took). (The house that was mine before we met sold for a lot of money.)

But that involved the actual transfer of a big chunk of cash, although still one that legally married couples can share without.

Since Kristin and I regularly drive to Idaho to buy lottery tickets (no lottery in Utah) and we entertain ourselves on the drive with our lottery fantasies, your post was incredibly interesting to me.

We’ve thought about ways to get around the gift tax for our families. Don’t know if those things are legally valid, or not, but whatever. The thing is, I NEVER THOUGHT about the gift tax hitting us as a couple since we buy the ticket out of our joint checking account. Stupid me!

So, what I want to know is (so I can resume my lottery fantasies) did you put your agreement of 50% interest in writing? Or were you joking?

you know that i feel strongly that if those benefits are made available to married people, they should be available without regard to the gender of the couple. but the optimal result in my mind would be to keep the government out of the business of encouraging marriage, period. civil partnerships for all, legally sanctioned marriages for none.

i WISH gay marriage were a threat to the institution of marriage, because it deserves to be questioned. but on the contrary, i think the movement for gay marriage only reinforces the institution of marriage by seeking to expand, rather than overhaul, an outdated and unfair legal doctrine.

Since making and raising children is really the fundamental reasoning for marriage, right?

On a more serious note, I think it’s interesting for us–as a hetero couple–to take the time this Valentine’s Day to remember why we did get married, and why marriage is something we should ALL enjoy, should we choose to.