Reasons to get married

[A_Nony_Mouse]

I have had two marriages and three long term live-ins that were indistinguishable from my two marriages. The only difference I can say for certain was different was the absence of divorce attorneys. Now since the first marriage was in the good old days in Virginia there would probably have been a difference on getting the first home mortgage, more difficult to impossible. Can't think of anything else.

I didn't think about that. David and I have moved from "if we buy the condo" to "when we buy the condo" so I might have to get him to ask what the difference is between not being married and being married for our mortgage.

Back in the late 60s in Virginia there was special titling for married which permitted transfer to the survivor with nothing more than a small filing fee, joint tenants in the entirety. There were other forms of ownership for people not married but they were meant for business not sexual partnerships. The issue could have been and I think would have been the way mortgages were made. It would have required both our incomes to cover but it would have been governed by business rules. That would have required more money down and banks liked to see the borrowers owning other properties.

But since joint purchases by unmarried couples have become so common, even in Virginia, I doubt it would be an issue today.

It is absolutely worth looking into but a real estate agent can likely answer any questions and a few calls to banks should confirm or deny what you are told. Worst comes to worst a couple hundred on a real estate attorney is money well spent.