Sneaky links” and “situationships” are more common today than relationships. Will Florida be the next state to endorse common law marriage, and would it be beneficial?
Sneaky links have become a trend. Situationships have derived from romanticizing the toxicity of hookup culture.
The goal of participating as a sneaky link or to be in a situationship is to gain sexual fulfillment without commitment or permanent ties to one another. This is supposed to happen with little to no one knowing about the arrangement.
The key is to “not catch feelings” or “get attached.” Therefore, wouldn’t this be easier to do through common law? After seven years of cohabitating a couple would be considered married by law while continuing their arrangement. This is considered to be more formal than a situationship without the attachment of an actual marriage.
A number of states acknowledge common law: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia. According to Investopedia, marriage is a legal union between two people.
Common law is two people who present themselves as a couple without purchasing a marriage license at the courthouse. Common law does not give your partner any legal protection if the couple were to break up.
According to Youngberg Family Law, common law is a legal recognition of your relationship. Additionally, common law marriage offers couples property division rights, inheritance rights, and possibly spousal maintenance if the relationship ends.
Unwed has confirmed that 70 percent of college students participate in hookup culture.
Jazmon Williams, a student at Tallahassee Community College, said she does not believe in the idea of common law.
“I feel like having common law is a way for people to stray away from the true commitment like marriage. I don’t think it’ll have much of an effect on society,” she said.
Williams says that common law will take away from the traditions and values that marriage upholds. She believes that this will give your partner an “easy way out,” so it makes it easier for them to choose to come in and out of your life without true commitment and fear of legal backlash.
Justin Cowart, a Tallahassee resident, says that he has contemplated if marriage is worth it or not. “This might be a good idea considering if the common law marriage doesn’t work, you and your partner still leave with everything that they had poured into the relationship,” he said.
All said, today’s American society is far from traditional. Therefore, a new law could be beneficial if implemented. But if this commitment is not a priority you don’t know who else your partner is seeking to be closes to.
Without a guaranteed commitment, it’s too easy to create an emotional attachment without realizing it. It could easily make things more complicated without a marriage license.