In real estate, one may own a life estate in a piece of property. This is comparable to the term of a marriage ”” a lifetime. And in real estate, one may hold possession of property for shorter terms through a lease.
Why don’t we borrow from real estate and create a marital lease? Instead of wedlock, a “wedlease.”
Here’s how a marital lease could work: Two people commit themselves to marriage for a period of years ”” one year, five years, 10 years, whatever term suits them. The marital lease could be renewed at the end of the term however many times a couple likes. It could end up lasting a lifetime if the relationship is good and worth continuing. But if the relationship is bad, the couple could go their separate ways at the end of the term. The messiness of divorce is avoided and the end can be as simple as vacating a rental unit.
David Gregory predicted this, along with other breakdowns of the culture, in his book, [url=http://davidgregorybooks.com/media/books-last-christian.php]The Last Christian[/url]. A very sobering and prescient book. Highly recommended.
What a ghastly idea! The separation rate is not high enough? Not enough people are shacking up without marriage? “No fault” divorce hasn’t shredded the institution of marriage sufficiently to satisfy this WP author? There aren’t enough children from broken homes? This would encourage “seven-year itches” (or shorter), and discourage couples from reasonably working through their disagreements which naturally pop up in the course of daily life.