Which is better these day's..., spouse or domestic partner..., and why ?

I'll never be convinced that it is anything other than being afraid of total commitment.

I was with my now husband for seven and a half years before we got married. Why? because we wanted a nice wedding but we also did not want to spend any money on a wedding until we had other things so we bought a house, vehicles, boats etc. before we married so we would not be just starting out when we got married. it seemed silly to spend a ton of money on a wedding and yet we had no home to live in. So we made sure we had all of those things beforehand. To us those things were just more important than the wedding since realistically a wedding is only one day and has very little to do with your love for each other. It was just the order that we had planned to do things. the most important things came first and it worked out well for us as we were not struggling our first years of marriage

so to answer your question....maybe those people are giving the other a trial period to see if the relationship will last a marriage or maybe they are simply saving up for marriage and it is a future goal.

Both are valid and acceptable ways to live, but have different implications, legally and Spiritually. Living together is deciding to combine assets, time, and interests because two people enjoy each others companionship, physically, emotionally, mentally, and Spiritually. Marriage legally and Spiritually sanctifies the union, declaring before God and man that the partners unite as one. While divorce is common, it is not the ideal, so it's best not to go into marriage until one is sure. Not only financial assets, but also children are deeply affected by divorce. When children are involved, both marriage and divorce should be considered seriously with the best interest of the children at heart. When children are not involved, the individuals are freer to make decisions that affect themselves and their partner without consideration for the scars it can cause children.

Well my parents have been living together for more than 20 years and aren't married. Kansas recognizes common law marriage but I'm not really sure why they never got married. I mean honestly, if two people love each other and commit themselves to each other whats a piece of paper and a ring? But then again being married does have its advantages & makes things easier financially like when it comes to tax season, buying a house etc etc.... My job allows us to get insurance on our domestic partners but I have to pay a higher price for my fiancee since were not married.

Just depends on what you are willing to live with.

Also Different State have Different laws pertaining to Marriage vs Domestic partners.

In NC:

Your Husband has many legal rights that a domestic partner does not.

It depends. If you end a domestic partnership, then there are no divorce proceedings and you can go your separate easily. The tax benefits are better when you are single. With some companies they will allow an employee to have a domestic partner on their medical insurance. I don't believe domestic partners are considered next of kin. They are not entitled to half of what is accrued during the relationship. They are not entitled to spousal support, or half of the other's retirement or community assets.

a couple of thoughts on this matter....

1. people do not get married anymore because they are afraid of commitment. when you are just sucking and fukking each other.. you can leave at anytime.. however if you are married, there is no ...."i don't want to be with you any more", "this isn't working", "it's me not you" type stuff. ther is a commitment to each other an GOD.

We as a people have learned not to value love, relationships and marriage.... back in the "old" days people got to know each other, married, courted the whole 9. now they just go for what is visibly seen.. what looks good in others eyes.

My girlfriend will be getting married in OCT... and I am SOOOOO proud of her, and him for that matter.... people don't get married anymore.... I pray for them.

One other thing..... the devil attacks institutions..... you can live together for years and never have problems.. but the minute you get married.... you start to have problems.. why is that...? because you are trying to do something right.. something that is ordained and expected from GOD.. the devil doesn't like this

Me and my man prefer to be domestic partners. It is way more meaningful to us that we remain together because we love eachother and we want to, then be together because we're stuck with eachother in marriage. It feels good to know that he is there because he wants to be, not because theres strings attached. He could leave at anytime, but the fact that he doesnt is all I need to know that he loves me. People remain together for years even though they dont love eachother, just because they are married, and we dont want it to be like that. I guess we lost faith in marriage because so many people get divorced these days, it doesnt seem to be as important or meaningful as it used to be. We dont want to be a part of that.

Everyone who answered all have valid points. To add to them, I think our society is one that takes "the easy way out" very seriously. The lack of commitment SHOULD send out warning bells to our society, but instead just gets ignored or gets some ridiculous - yet acceptable - label slapped onto it for 'beautification' purposes. (sigh) I wonder . . . do other countries embrace this style of living as well, e.g. Italy, China, Russia . . . I'm curious to learn what the statistics between legal marriages and "domestic partnerships" are.

you get a lot of people who say love is enough but, no matter how much love some one there are somethings you need to be married to do. Like be in the emergency room with them, Think back to that Terry Shivo case and the bitterness between her husband and her parents do you want to be or put your loved on in that position

Living together gives people an easy out.It's a no commitment arraignment. Living together assumes that something is going to go wrong and the relationship will end. It's pessimistic.

Marriage doesn't give people an easy out because you go into it believing the relationship will work. It's a committed arraignment. Marriage assumes that even though things will go wrong the couple believes they will work through it. It's optimistic.