Today fewer and fewer people get married. Maybe they do it because they don't realize the benefits of marriage. Being married brings great benefits to the emotional, physical and financial aspects of your children, your spouse and your life. Although viewed differently, the reasons for marriage can actually be narrowed down to two, marrying for love or marrying for a more personal and beneficial reason. The emotional aspects of marriage play heavily in every person's life. Although common sense does not always say that the best relationships arise from a great depth of love. There is a recipe for a lasting love marriage. “First, they must love each other deeply and choose each other without being influenced by external pressures. From that moment on, everyone will have to make their partner their top priority in life, putting that relationship above any competing bonds. We believe that husbands and wives have their highest obligations and deepest loyalty to each other and to the children they raise. Parents and in-laws should not be allowed to interfere in the marriage. Married couples are supposed to be best friends, sharing their innermost feelings and secrets. They should express their affection openly but also talk openly about problems. And, of course, they should be sexually faithful to each other” (coontz, 381). This recipe does not only extend to heterosexual couples but also extends to homosexuals if their right to marriage is recognized. As Andrew Sullivan stated in For Gay Marriage, homosexuals “exist in and experience emotional and sexual attractions to the same sex as heterosexuals have to the opposite sex” (406). The emotional state of marriages affects not only the spouse and oneself. Other Financial Benefits Children are profoundly affected by ma...... middle of paper ...... ied have 75% less wealth and those who have divorced have 73% less wealth” (Popenoe and Whitehead, 394). You might ask Why is marriage such a wealth creator? One theory is that those people who create wealth are more likely to get married and stay married. Lower taxes are also a big factor in why people get married. Sharing the insurance plan will most likely generate wealth. While it is a small point, it is still a point that the spouse does not pay gift taxes. In the event of death, Social Security benefits will go to the surviving partner. The State of Our Unions states that “marriage itself is an institution that generates wealth and does so across an economic ladder as two people live more cheaply than one, and as a long-term commitment and contract it encourages economic specialization by working in couple and developing skills in which they excel” (394).