General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Marriage poll [View all]SheilaT
(23,156 posts)divorced and remarried mom, the guy who abandoned her in the first place won't be rushing in to take the kids back. You've outlined the case for people having good wills in place at any age, rather than a case for overthrowing the current system.
If you want your live-in girlfriend to benefit somewhere down the road from your SS benefits, then marry her. And your disable dad probably already gets benefits of some kind.
I'm not sure if you're suggesting that people be able to designate anyone and everyone they want as beneficiaries, or simply noting that there are limits on who benefits from one given person's SS. In any case, I think the current system works just fine for the most part. There are important benefits that accrue to people who marry each other, which is exactly why same sex couples need to be allowed that same privilege with all the benefits involved. Meanwhile, let's not take any of the current ones away.