Building Incentives for Staying Married

Forty years ago no-fault divorce became legal in some states of the USA.   Then, like creeping charlie, it spread over the land.  Seriously redefining marriage, it knocked out incentives for staying married. 

To define marriage, are we at the mercy of the states we live in? Can they change our marriages at will? Is there nothing that we can do to correct this except passing new laws?

No.  No. No.

There is at least one thing we can do, and it addresses all these problems.  We can make very clear what is expected on going into marriage (for example with an arbitration agreement). When we give our daughters in marriage we can make a contract with the bridegroom. Rather than an expensive "Princess Di" wedding or if we are wealthy, as part of our paying for the wedding, we can set the young couple up with a good DOWRY. Dowries have traditionally been a form of marriage "insurance".

Dowry: This is funds that are given to the young man to hold in trust for his bride. He can use it for anything he needs to in the marriage -- a house, business, but if he breaks the marriage covenant, he owes it back to the bride and her family.