Have we outgrown marriage?

I know, I said I wouldn't post again till Monday, but I was reading an article in Shine, this morning. Here is the link.

So the thing is she asks is marriage obsolete. Her selling point being, that it was tantamount to prostitution, it was a woman's retirement plan when she had no other way to make her living. Since we have other ways to make a living it should no longer be necessary as an institution.

As strange as this may sound from a non traditionalist, I am for marriage in general. Why? Money. We have, heterosexuals anyway, 1100 to 1400 civilly recognized rights as married people. The majority of which are financial in nature. For example: Tax benefits, the ability to file a joint return, social security benefits and freedom from paying taxes on estate taxes and gift taxes on property left to you by your spouse. Military benefits of the spouse, insurance coverage from your spouses work, family rates for insurance, tuition discounts, incentives offered only to married couples.

There are other things non monetary that we gain as well. Receiving joint custody in a divorce. Living in neighborhoods zoned for "families only". The ability to be in ICU in restricted hours if your spouse is in the hospital. Foster care and adoption rights. The ability to make the burial arrangements, bereavement leave. And tons of other things at the federal and state level. Things married people seem to take for granted.

Not too long ago my brother was in the hospital and his girlfriend of many years had to call me (next of kin) to make any legal decisions should it come to that.

So to say that marriage as a civil contract with legally recognized benefits is obsolete is maybe stretching things a bit. Civil unions, domestic partnerships and same sex marriages don't have near so many of these important rights which we take for granted.

Not to mention that if there weren't some real desirable benefits to being legally married according to the law why would our LGBT population be fighting so hard for them.

But marriage is still a much more complicated issue than money and who gets to see the kids. We also believe that love is essential to marriage not just in it's philosophical sense either. Men often marry for the comforts that arrangement provides. Let's face it there are many things a working man no longer feels he has to do that he did while single. Dinner, laundry, picking up. This is not to say that all men feel this way but it is still considered high on the list of desirable perks. Regular sex with a partner you can safely assume is faithful. Not always the case but there still lingers the ownership of body rights about monogamous marriage. As a married person I might feel that as I have papers on someone, I have first right to their time and attention, and everyone must stand in line behind me. I know that sounds blunt, but I know a lot of men and women that feel this way, sometimes to the exclusion of family, kids, friends, hobbies and personal time.
So is marriage dead? I think not. Does it need to evolve with the times, I say yes. What do you think about marriage?