...110 Define a Family. A family is a group of people who share are joined by blood, marriage, or adoption. It is also a group of people residing together consisting of parents, children, and other relatives by blood or marriage. Finally, a family is a group of people residing together who have consented to an arrangement similarly to those of blood or marriage. Explain What Constitutes a Marriage. Marriage is a legitimate contract between a man and a woman who mutually promise to live together in a relationship in law for life, or until the legal termination of their relationship. Once both parties have entered into a marriage contract, the legal status of both parties will have changed giving the husband and wife new rights obligations and benefits. Public policy is intensely in favor of the institution of marriage. Conventionally, marriage has been viewed as vital to the preservation of morals and is believed to sustain the family unit in our civilization. In the United States, marriage is regulated by individual states. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that states are permitted to reasonably regulate marriage by stipulating who can marry and the method in which they can dissolve a marriage. All states limit people to one living husband or wife at a time, and will not issue a marriage licenses to anyone who has not divorced a living spouse. Once someone is married, the only way they can be legally liberated from his or her spouse is by death, divorce, or annulment....
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...specific beliefs and ideals. A once cherished practice, marriage is progressively losing the meaning and values behind it due to state legal practices. The need to abolish marriage as a legal contract, from a symbolic interactionist perspective, can best be determined by studying the societal changes displayed by today’s high rates of divorce, increased rates of children being born and raised by single parents and state and federal benefits marring the sanctity of marriage. If we remove state mandated control and deregulate marriage, we can in turn strengthen and encourage marriage based on a couples own perspectives and strengthen the quality of family. Early Americans viewed marriage as the staple to a quality family. Men and women found compatible mates they could spend the rest of their lives with, for reasons of love and procreation. They viewed marriage as forever and worked hard to keep their marriages strong. The symbolism behind a strong marriage meant a strong quality family unit. Today, with the tax benefits associated with marriage, it is more of a social contract that is not based on moral obligations, but financial benefits. The Federal tax benefits they give to married couples provide incentive for individuals to get married. This incentive takes the focus away from personal and moral beliefs and persuades an individual to focus on financial reasoning. For example, according to the IRS tax rate schedule (2012) an individual with a seventy thousand dollar a year...
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...mistreats his spouse's mother then it can’t be used for a divorce. There was once an Italian man that brought his mother along on his honeymoon, then his new bride soon asked for a divorce. There is only two U.S Presidents who have been known to have been divorced: Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. They say couples that live in Republican states are twenty seven percent more likely to divorce than couples in Democratic states. (54 interesting facts about divorce) Couples who marry in the Republican states have a historically younger marriage than their Democratic counterparts. In ancient Chaldea, if...
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...Divorce Decree Kaplan University January 27, 2015 Professor Nnena Odim PA250: Family Law COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS THE TRIAL COURT THE PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT DEPARTMENT SUFFOLK DIVISION DOCKET NO: 57865 ) Patty Bean, ) Plaintiff ) ) v. ) ) David Bean, ) Defendant ) ) JUDGMENT DECREE FOR DIVORCE 1. Patty Bean (“Wife”) and David Bean (“Husband”) were married in Boston, MA on April 5, 2004. 2. Patty Bean resides at 123 West Golf Road, Boston, Suffolk County, MA. 3. Husband resides at 456 Eat Lark Street, Boston, Suffolk County, MA. 4. There are two children of this marriage: David Bean Jr. (DOB 6/5/06) and Patricia Bean (DOB 7/1/09). 5. The marriage of the parties has broken down irretrievably, and there is no prospect of reconciliation After HEARING, it is hereby ordered and adjudged that: 6. Husband and Wife will share legal custody of the children: primary residence and physical custody shall be with the Husband. 7. Both parties are to split weekends, holidays and vacation to allow the minor children equal time with both parents. 8. Both parties will assume shared responsibility with transportation for visitation and independently provide for the material needs of the children at each separate location. 9. The Husband and Wife may upon mutual agreement modify the periods of access when it is in any or all of the children’s best interests. 10...
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...A PARENT LOSSES A JOB Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Date of Submission: A job loss can me a nightmare to any parent. Its implications are severe because of the sharp drop in income and economic security for a family. It has impact on the parents’ mental and physical health. In addition, it affects family relationships and can result to marital conflicts. When a person is laid off, economic concerns come up. He starts to ponder on how he will be able to sustain his family without no job. In a case where an individual has savings, his main worry will be how long the savings will sustain the family. Upon receiving the news of being laid off, an individual is also affected emotionally. The parent will first experience shock, disbelief and denial. Afterwards anxiety and fear come in due to the unknown future. People experience fears of: paying bills, sustaining their families, finding another job and maintaining their current living standards. As the reality becomes more certain, sadness and depression sets in. This may result to a parent stopping doing his daily activities. In addition, anger and frustration are experienced in some parents. In some cases, this parents may direct their anger to other persons in the community or family. Finally, some people experience shame after a layout. Social impacts are evident after a job loss. The relationship that people have mostly change after a layoff. This leads to the feeling of isolation and loneliness by the parent...
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...property state. If that were the case, then he would less likely be worried about having a pre-nuptual agreement signed. The fact that I, Jeremy, had been married before and have a child from that marriage want to take every precautionary measure to insure that what I have worked long and hard for, will not be taken away from myself and child should I ever end up with another divorce. A large number of couples stay together do to financial concerns and by signing a pre-nup, I feel more confident that my future wife would be with me because she loves me whether or not we have the financial stability. This is not a trust issue with Marietta but more of a commitment to all of us and to protect everyone involved. There is never any guarantee that a marriage will last "til death do us part" in our modern times. The chances of us divorcing are a higher percentage than us staying together forever. Marietta is very close to her family which is great but brings big concerns for me, if a divorce was to ever be mentioned. Her family resides in the Philippines so I would assume that if we were to split up, she would take any child(ren) that we may have in the future, and move back where she would be close to her family. Marietta would feel that the children would be better off living near her "close-knit family" where they would receive more love and affection than a single father could possibly give. In this circumstance, a pre-nup would be of no use, because laws don't allow for visitation...
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...Divorce Time to Say Goodbye When it comes to breaking-up and ending a relationship, the song by The Manhattans released in 1976 says it best “Let’s Just Kiss and Say Goodbye”. The song has deep and meaningful words, even though it is about a man ending his side relationship with his lover, it holds true for any relationship that is ending, especially a marriage. There are several reasons why people decide to dissolve their marriage. No matter, how they arrived at the decision, the end result not only affects them but it will affect the children, pets, family, and friends. They must determine the best way to inform their loved ones about the dissolution of the marriage. They must also decide who will have custody of the children and pets. When a man or woman is fed up with their spouse mishandling of finances, lack of communication and unfaithfulness; they feel divorce is the best solution. Money is a touchy topic regardless of the situation but there are several reasons why people may mishandle their finances. Although, the reasons may vary, some couples divorce over finances because of bad investments, addictions, and lack of maturity. A person should never invest their money into anything without a lack of understanding because when something sounds too good to be true it usually is and the damage it does cannot be changed. Addictions are no longer limited to drugs and alcohol; gambling and porn is on the rise as well. Gambling and purchasing porn can...
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...Palak Patel Mrs. Roman Eng102 Date: 03/16/2012 Divorce in America In the 21st century, so many Americans are struggling with divorce. Studies show that approximately sixty percent of marriage in America ends in divorce, and this does not seem to be slow down (“Divorce”). Nowadays, divorce is more common as compared to the past. Furthermore, so many issues are related to divorce: couples do not want to compromise about their relationship, women are becoming more independent, and couples are getting married too young. According to Wilson, “couples who live together before marriage have higher divorce rates than those who do not, and less educated couples tend to divorce at higher rates than those with more education” (“Introduction to Divorce”). It is also possible that couples are getting married for the wrong reasons, and they are not putting enough effort into their relationship, and their marriages end in divorce. Children are struggling as well as their parents because when parents become divorced the children become divorced too. After parents get divorced, children face a lot of stress during their lives. In the 21st century, the divorce rate in the American family is increasing because married couples are refusing to compromise about their relationship which is posing a potential danger to children. The divorce rate continues to increase in America over last twenty five years. As a matter of facts, the divorce rate is higher in today’s society compared to the past...
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...focus of “The Future of Love: Kiss Romance Goodbye, It’s Time for the Real Thing” by Barbara Graham. Graham argues that our mounting divorce and re-marriage rates show that our society is looking for something in marriages that it isn’t finding. Her argument states that today’s society tries to establish marriages on love, when history shows us that marriages are intended for social and economic reasons, not romantic reasons. According to Graham, we keep studying the biology and sociology of love in marriage, not giving attention to the fact that a successful love relationship and a successful marriage are two different things. Finally the author ends her essay by stating that the marriage relationships in our society are failing. After reading several articles regarding marriage, it has become apparent to me that marriage is failing within the United States. This is mainly due to the lack of realistic expectations, such as the assumption that romance and matrimony are synonymous. However, marriage is crucial for the foundation of a healthy society. Marriage provides several vital elements such as cultural prosperity, social order and the regulation of sexual activities. The concept of marriage as we know it can easily be remedied if we refrain from using classical love stories as a template and back to the idea of the original old fashioned families. One of the main opponents of marriage is the lack of...
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...style wedding, the marriages are usually arranged by the parents; the ages of the men are usually between 20 and 25, while the women are between 17 and 22. The couple can also be put together by friends and even a match maker, or he can suggest a likely spouse, and have the parents setup the marriage negotiations. Unlike the male in the marriage, the women have the right to veto the decision, if she disagrees with the relationship. After a spouse has been selected, someone meets with the parents and discusses the subject of marriage. Then each family will investigate the other to make sure their child is marrying into a good family. When both sides agree to the marriage and presents have been exchanged and accepted, the families consult a type of priest to set the wedding date. Indonesia has many diverse cultures, and being a country with as many different cultures, the style of the wedding has to reflect the culture of the families involved. The parents of the groom-to-be will go...
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... 115, Describe the Fowler family before Franks murder. How does the murder affect Matt? Writing Activity I: Killings The Fowler family seemed like the typical all American family. Matt although a protective father often remembers being fearful that his children would get hurt all through there childhood. He recalls memories of being on edge about them drowning in the pond near their house or falling out of a high oak tree all three of his children would climb. Matt always kept these fears to himself; he didn’t want to startle his children. As the children became adults it seemed like Matt and his wife Ruth tried to stay out of there children’s personal lives but did voice concern about Franks new girlfriend Mary Ann. Mary Ann was going through a divorce and already had two children. Matt thought this was a lot for a man to take on and took the time out to find out Franks true thoughts on the situation. Frank assured him that it was nothing serious at this time, with her divorce still in the process and him going to school in the fall. One evening there was an altercation between Frank and Mary Ann’s ex-husband Strout. Frank’s parents wanted him to press charges against Strout but Frank didn’t think this was necessary at the time. Charges were never filed and Strout took it to the most extreme level murdering Frank in front of Mary Ann and her two children later in the story. Frank’s murder seemed to just destroy his entire family. They just couldn’t believe...
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...compete for their children by taking us on family trips to New York or even things as small as buying clothes. would have tear stricken cheeks as they watched us leave for the week to come. My entanglement in my parents everlasting argument, made me believe I induced the conflict. I felt like I was living behind a battered mask, hiding my true sadness and anguish from the world. An actor by day, and an emotional wreck by night. I hid most of my emotions from the people around me, including even my closest friends. Usually I’m an outgoing person, but actually, I became much more quiet and shy. To my friends, I pretended like my life came together better than ever, and although I am just one year apart from my brother, neither of us wanted to discuss the situation between ourselves. The divorce provided barrier for my parents as well as between my brother and me. My sealed lips, though, only caused my pain to grow and become stronger. I received no relief when I desperately needed saving, until one chilled, autumn night. I met a shy, incandescent girl named Delaney. Around her, I immediately felt a strange level of comfort around her that I had not shared with anyone else, even my brother. Her compassionate nature drew me in and I felt the warmth of her heart radiating from her body. I easily vented to her about my fears and suffering almost immediately after I met her. I grew closer to her each time we talked and felt a sense of safety from my suffering, and endlessly I would run...
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...“Borrow money and you are the lender’s slave” (Good News Bible, Pr. 22.7). Along with the inspired words of God our Father, let us digest the words of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. The 13th Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” ( “Primary Documents in…”). Interesting, almost 149 years later, and with many Americans in debt today, the above words, can only suggest one thing; perhaps slavery or involuntary servitude is not dead but has only taken on a more disguised form. Although the above may be true, some believe debt is not slavery but a financial hardship brought about by one's own actions. With statics showing that the American public holds the bulk of the seventeen trillion dollar, deficits (The Debt to…); and that only 32 percent of Americans actually budget (Jacobe), one can come to believe this is true. That it is the public’s fault for not budgeting. For this reason, it is necessary that we diligently research and investigate past and present evidence to educate ourselves on the national debt crisis, so that we could shed some light on the root cause. First all, we will need to understand eccentric statistics on how many Americans are actually affected by debt today. According to Michael A. Fletcher of The Washingstonpost...
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...The “New Right” and the Family • This is a structural and modernist perspective. • It advocates (sees as desirable) the nuclear family – other forms of family are seen as deviant and inadequate. The nuclear family is seen as clear cut, organised and structured. It performs the essential functions of the family, that of; - Primary socialisation - Stabilization of adult personalities • They see this system of family structure as contributing to the overall effectiveness and stability of society. • It is a conservative (small c – therefore does not like rapid, radical change) and anti-feminist. • Opposed to family diversity as this would lead to the inadequate fulfilment of the main functions of the family (see above). • Patriarchal • The division of labour within a family is clear (instrumental and expressive) • Nuclear family is “natural” form of family life – based on biology, the family seen as a place of refuge, contentment and harmony. • Decline in the nuclear family and the rise in diversity = social problems. ➢ Lone parent families (single parent families) are unnatural and harmful to children ➢ Lone mothers (single mothers) cannot discipline properly (linked to expressive roles) and are a burden on the state and leave boys with no role models therefore threaten social stability. ➢ Mothers should not work because should be caring for children. ➢ Marriage is essential – creates stable environment for...
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...period of gainful employment with a period when an adult is no longer gainfully employed; WHAT IS RETIREMENT? • People often work continuously up to 40 years prior to retiring; • Upon retirement, the retiree relies on the public or private retirement system and/or personal savings for income; • Some workers are beginning to look for opportunities to gradually ease into retirement – often called “phased retirement” THE FIVE PILLARS OF RETIREMENT SECURITY • • • • Social security (SSNIT in Ghana) Employer-sponsor retirement plan Personal savings Earnings from employment after retirement • Income from family members, life insurance, health insurance, and general insurance. REASONS TO PLAN FOR RETIREMENT • Break down of the informal systems – Changes in the family structure – Urbanization, mobility, war, famine, and aids – Family attitudes HOW TO PLAN FOR RETIREMENT TOP 9 WAYS TO BEAT THE CLOCK AND PREPARE FOR RETIREMENT HOW TO PLAN FOR RETIREMENT • Know your retirement needs • Find out about your Social Security benefits • Learn about your employer’s pension scheme • Contribute to a tax-sheltered savings plan HOW TO PLAN FOR RETIREMENT • • • • Ask your employer to start a plan Don’t touch your savings Consider basic investment principles Ask questions. Talk to the employer, banks, financial advisors, etc… • Start now, set goals, and stick to them. It’s...
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