Good point; if we conquer death then there may be some marriages that do not end. It’d be interesting to see if people move towards near-universal divorce, sci-fi-novel-style limited-term marriages, or find ways to develop infinite-term compatibility. Or stop pairing up (inconceivable to present-day humans, but such is the nature of a Singularity).
That definitely would be interesting. It would perhaps be an indicator of preferences, as opposed to the current indicator of capability. If you have tools that can alter your mind you can cheat.
I suspect that getting a divorce requires some minimal amount of input from both parties—if I remember correctly I had to sign something saying that I’d received some paperwork, when mine happened, in order for it to go through.
I suspect that in the case I posited, the non-disappearing person would be able to get the disappearing person declared dead after a certain period of time, which doesn’t strictly require that the disappearing person be dead, and then remarry. If that’s accurate, that’d be a third option.
I suspect that in the case I posited, the non-disappearing person would be able to get the disappearing person declared dead after a certain period of time, which doesn’t strictly require that the disappearing person be dead, and then remarry. If that’s accurate, that’d be a third option.
100% of marriages that have ended have ended in divorce or legal death?
Where does ‘annulment’ fit into things? Is that when it is decided to just pretend the marriage never existed in the first place.
Where does ‘annulment’ fit into things? Is that when it is decided to just pretend the marriage never existed in the first place.
Yes. In the Catholic Church, a “declaration of nullity” was nearly a loophole to not being able to get divorced. Basically, there were certain preconditions that were assumed to hold when getting married, and if it turns out any of those preconditions did not actually obtain, then the marriage never actually happened. For example, it is assumed that the couple wants to have children; if it turns out that one party never intended to have children, that can be grounds for a declaration of nullity.
Several legal jurisdictions have adopted this idea, but it makes little sense when one can just get divorced and there are not strict preconditions for marriage.
As long as we’re picking nits, in some places marriages can also be annulled (though of course they will insist that this is retroactive, and for some purposes it is).
That’s what I understand; an annulment means the marriage never happened. (E.g. if it’s been “consummated” then annulment is not an option. I wonder how that interacts with modern pre-consummated marriages?)
100% of marriages end in divorce or death.
100% of marriages that have ended ended in divorce or death.
Good point; if we conquer death then there may be some marriages that do not end. It’d be interesting to see if people move towards near-universal divorce, sci-fi-novel-style limited-term marriages, or find ways to develop infinite-term compatibility. Or stop pairing up (inconceivable to present-day humans, but such is the nature of a Singularity).
That definitely would be interesting. It would perhaps be an indicator of preferences, as opposed to the current indicator of capability. If you have tools that can alter your mind you can cheat.
Historically.
Which of those does it count as when one of the parties just leaves and becomes unfindable?
My understanding is that you’re still married until one of you goes and gets a divorce, but I can’t admit to having researched such a thing.
I suspect that getting a divorce requires some minimal amount of input from both parties—if I remember correctly I had to sign something saying that I’d received some paperwork, when mine happened, in order for it to go through.
I suspect that in the case I posited, the non-disappearing person would be able to get the disappearing person declared dead after a certain period of time, which doesn’t strictly require that the disappearing person be dead, and then remarry. If that’s accurate, that’d be a third option.
100% of marriages that have ended have ended in divorce or legal death?
Where does ‘annulment’ fit into things? Is that when it is decided to just pretend the marriage never existed in the first place.
Yes. In the Catholic Church, a “declaration of nullity” was nearly a loophole to not being able to get divorced. Basically, there were certain preconditions that were assumed to hold when getting married, and if it turns out any of those preconditions did not actually obtain, then the marriage never actually happened. For example, it is assumed that the couple wants to have children; if it turns out that one party never intended to have children, that can be grounds for a declaration of nullity.
Several legal jurisdictions have adopted this idea, but it makes little sense when one can just get divorced and there are not strict preconditions for marriage.
Wikipedia: Annulment
As long as we’re picking nits, in some places marriages can also be annulled (though of course they will insist that this is retroactive, and for some purposes it is).
That’s what I understand; an annulment means the marriage never happened. (E.g. if it’s been “consummated” then annulment is not an option. I wonder how that interacts with modern pre-consummated marriages?)