CLA 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Married People
28 May 2018
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Jan 19, 2018
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Lec 4: Marriage
- Cohabitations and marriage
- Marital happiness
Introduction
- A wedding ceremony had two functions:
- Public acknowledgment of creation of a new family
- A ritual organized by the family, making change in status and roles among all
family members
- In Canada, the proportion of married people has been declining over past decades,
while the proportion of those who are divorced and those who are never married has
been increasing
- Cohabitation becoming more acceptable among young adults
- Since 2005, same sex marriage has been legal
Society and Marriage
- Today, first marriages occur later in life
- Why?
- Women’s greater education levels
- Poor opportunities for young workers
- An increase in proportion of couples living together before marriage
The Law and Marriage
- Marriage is a legal contract governed by law
- In Canada, both partners must be 18 years old
- May marry at age 16 with parental consent
- Marriage of convenience
- A marriage where the sole purpose is for the spouse to immigrate
- Illegal in Canada
- Same-sex marriage legal in Canada since 2005
Roles in Marriage
- Conventional roles
- Shared roles
- Not necessarily 50/50
- What they feel is fair
- Usually working in some capacity
- Dual Career Roles
- Both members feel that they are pursuing their career/dreams
- Can have or not have children
- Reverse conventional roles
- In 2005, only 11% of Canadian Families
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Jan 19, 2018
2
- Can be more than one of theses roles
Why Marry?
- Financial security
- Big party
- Religious reasons
- Whole romantic view of love is involved in individual decisions to marry
- Individuals come to marriage looking for self- fulfillment and for emotional growth and
satisfaction
Together, but not married
- In Canada, cohabitation is increasingly accepted, especially among younger people
- Not always with the intent to marry later
- For cohorts born before 1960, proportion of cohabiting couples is also increasing
- suggests that many people are choosing to cohabit instead of remarrying after
divorce or widowhood
- Federally, those living together for one year can receive couple benefits
- However, each province sets its own conditions for common-law status
- Ontario is 3 years, or 1 year with a child
- Common-law union can be same- or opposites sex: does not make a difference for legal
purposes
- Often, cohabiting couples do not have the same property rights as a married
couples
- Common-law union
- A union of two partners in a lasting relationship resembling marriage
- In some ways, cohabitation and marriage are alike
- Both involve romantic relationships, pooled income and expenses, child rearing
and benefit of emotional support
- Not a cumulative time
- If you break up = start over
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- Differences
- Marriage tends to be more permanent
- No waiting period for legal rights and responsibilities to apply, as when couples
live common-law
- Property
- If they break up, if the name is not on the property they will not
have access
- Marriage = always together
- If you owned property separately, it is still yours
- spousal support
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Document Summary
Public acknowledgment of creation of a new family. A ritual organized by the family, making change in status and roles among all family members. In canada, the proportion of married people has been declining over past decades, while the proportion of those who are divorced and those who are never married has been increasing. Cohabitation becoming more acceptable among young adults. Since 2005, same sex marriage has been legal. Today, first marriages occur later in life. An increase in proportion of couples living together before marriage. Marriage is a legal contract governed by law. In canada, both partners must be 18 years old. May marry at age 16 with parental consent. A marriage where the sole purpose is for the spouse to immigrate. Same-sex marriage legal in canada since 2005. Both members feel that they are pursuing their career/dreams. Can be more than one of theses roles. Whole romantic view of love is involved in individual decisions to marry.
