As a sociologist whose primary interests are in the subfield of marriage and family, I found this op-ed by David Brooks to be very interesting. This is a position you don't hear to much about these days, and I for one, really appreciated his insinuation that the family should be something other than what larger culture has made it. I chuckled as I read, because my husband and I have a joint checking account, yet every time he buys me something, be it a shirt, dinner, whatever, I always say thank you. This is perhaps a throw-back to our dating days...But I find it humorous to say thank you when the money spent was, in fact, ours. At any rate, I agree with Brooks here, that marriage should come with the merging of all assests. As the old fashioned vow says "with all my worldly goods, I thee endow." I believe that sharing money actually fosters a sense of trust, mutuality (is that a word??) and togetherness. This way, financial decisions are made together - revolving around our best interest. Not mine or his. Anyway, if you are interested, here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/opinion/01brooks.html?hp

Perhaps individual checking accounts is one more variable in a multiple regression analysis for factors that can predict divorce! (ha! I'm such a nerd.)