Did women generally take marriage more seriously before easy divorce, property

[Nobody in particular]

settlements and alimony? It seems that to most women marriage these days is just something that one does for a few years in order to cash in. Three of four years and she gets the house, the car and half his money, plus if he wasn't careful he will be supporting her and her kid until the kid is 18.

Do you think it was allowing women to obtain a divorce so easily and the sort of property settlements have made women come to consider marriage this way?

Would a return to the old ways of marriage for life make women take things more seriously? Would they then marry for love instead of money?

[Djuna]

Alimony is currently awarded in about 5% of divorces. It used to be far more common, but that was when divorce was rarer. It went hand-in hand with the idea that husbands and wives had obligations to each other that should be difficult to run away from.

Do I think people don't take marriage as seriously now as they once did? Yes. There are so many reasons for this, but I do think that no-fault divorce is one of them. I think just knowing that divorce is an option, even when no-one has "broken" the marriage contract, weakens peoples' commitment.

Personally, I think that a "covenant" marriage should be an option for people. My husband and I both agree that we would have gone for that, given the chance. I suppose I'm an optimist, but I do think that there are a lot of women that are disgusted by seeing people treat ex-spouses so horribly. That goes for men and women both.

[princessblaise39]

show me a man with money, pretty rare and hey wheres the house thought your market had collapsed. its great to know that it's her kid like it popped out of the cabbage patch oneday. hey you dont have to get married if you dont want 2, iguess she tricked you into that 2.

[randomzz]

Yes. They know that they can cash out at any time, and many hardly even try.

[Peanut]

Such incessant whining and never a shred of evidence. You are a young, gullible kid who gets his misinformation from cranky misogynist websites. You've never been married and probably never even had a girlfriend. And gee I wonder why...

[Meagan]

Returning to old ways may make some women take marriage more seriously, but it will also leave other women in abusive relationships with no way out. I will agree with you, though, that most divorce settlements are unfairly biased in the woman's favor.