I'm all caught up on paperwork. For the moment, anyway. You know how paperwork is, so cyclical. One minute I'm current, the next minute the cycle begins anew. The rhythm is gonna get me.
Some of the paperwork was annual, like filing the FAFSA. It shows the Federal Department of Education how poor I am so The Boy can take advantage of low cost federal education loans. Even as cheap as money is these days, those loans are extremely handy. The cheapest of the cheap.
Funny thing is, The Boy wouldn't be eligible if Wendy and I were allowed legal recognition of our family status. It doesn't matter that our family finances are joint, that her income is my income is The Boy's income, that our assets are shared and shared alike, that our resources available to pay for his education are far greater than the data collected on said FAFSA indicates. When viewed as the entity it is, our family doesn't look bad on paper. But when divided by legal status, we appear, for this exercise, conveniently destitute.
I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt at how this works to our advantage. Here's where I thumb my nose at our government and those who feel my commitment to Wendy is unworthy of legal acknowledgement. It is a rare instance of our family benefiting from bigotry. In fact, it's the only instance.
It doesn't come close to making up for the mountain of societal and legal restrictions imposed on homosexual families in America, but I'll take the crumb. I'd gladly give it up for a bite of the sandwich other citizens are served.
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9 comments:
The beauty part is that even if someone from officaldom sees this and tries to nab you on the whole "but you share a house and finances with this person" you can smack 'em upsaide the head with the big book of their own regulations.
I wish you could eat sandwiches with the rest of us.
Oh my goodness - my secret code for signing in is "Meall"!
Atta way to stick it to The Man! And atta way to work Gloria Estefan into your post! I love The Rhythm is Gonna Get You, hee!
Speaking of paperwork, I still need to do my taxes. Ack.
Good for you guys, I'm glad it helps the Boy out.
"Let them eat cake!" says I.
we are doing the EXACT same thing.
altho we took it a step further and about 5 years ago moved all of our assests (savings etc) into my name.
tee hee.
Here is a random topic for debate:
You used the word "homosexual" in your post. Is that your chosen word for the LGBTQ community (when referring to them/us as a whole)?
Doesn't it seem too clinical and slightly reverting back to the older days in psychology when "homosexuality" was an "illness" that needed curing (in the 70s)?
I was wondering what people had to say about it...
LOVE THE BLOG!
Crystal
Sometimes the disadvantages work to our benefit...but it never seems to be quite enough...
Another area you can 'give it to the man' is filing taxes. You get a HELL of a lot more back filing individually, than as a married couple. Especially when you're homeowners.
Weese -- you rebel, you! :)
From North of the Border: My partner and I were legally married a year and a half ago. Tax time is painful but worth it.
If "they" are not going to recognize your partnership as a legal entity, then I think you should grab as much as you can -- my gut feeling is that until the IRS recognizes lesbian/gay marriage, take those laws and bend them any way that legally suits you.
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