Modern Marriage - French Style

[Bar Sinister]

In France civil unions are now all the rage, but apparently not necessarily just between homosexual couples. It seems that most civil unions are between heterosexual couples and they form these unions not for love, but for tax advantages. To quote from the article
"As with traditional marriages, civil unions allow couples to file joint tax returns, exempt spouses from inheritance taxes, permit partners to share insurance policies, ease access to residency permits for foreigners and make partners responsible for each other’s debts. Concluding a civil union requires little more than a single appearance before a judicial official, and ending one is even easier."

I wonder if the result would have been the same had Canada decided in favour of civil unions instead of legalizing gay marriages.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/world/europe/16france.html

 

[petros]

There are estranged couples in Canada that do the same as what the French are doing. I know of more than one couple that still married instead of selling everything only to be taxed.

 

[TenPenny]

And it's also not uncommon for old couples to get a divorce, so that the assets (and pensions) are divided, yet only one has to pay for nursing home costs, the other has money to live off of when the other is in a nursing home. It can turn out to be better economically.

 

[El Barto]

Ahhh because getting taxed to death is already like getting it in the a$$ ..why not ? The government has got the people already bent over