You know...
...I was just reading my divorce agreement and I noticed it had some words that I didn’t understand. Since the words had to do with alimony, I thought I should know what they meant. According to the papers, I cannot collect alimony if I “cohabit meretriciously” with a man. Well, it doesn’t specify man, but I think I can safely assume it means a man.
I thought I knew what cohabit was but I thought that, to be safe, I should double check. It means, according to Merriam-Webster’s, “to live together as man and wife.” Then, it says something about buffaloes and crossbred cows but I don’t think that had anything to do with it. I was right as to what I thought cohabit meant.
Now, I had never heard the word meretriciously so I had no idea what that meant. It is an interesting word. It comes from the French merere meaning "to earn". The definitions of meretricious are; “of or relating to a prostitute.”, “tawdrily and falsely attractive." and “superficially significant.”.
I still don’t know what it means in relationship to my divorce. Can I cohabitate with a man if I don’t charge him for sex? Can I charge him for sex but then have to kick him out in the morning? Does it have something to do with a bordello? I can run one as long as I don't rent out rooms?
Or, are they referring to the second definition I which case I will lose my alimony if I get plastic surgery? Is that what falsely attractive means? And how do they define tawdrily? That’s a tough one to quantify.
I could be tawdry without knowing it. Sometimes I know when I am being tawdry, but sometimes it is a judgment call.
The third definition could apply as well. Perhaps I must avoid cohabitating with a man whom I find to be important, just not terribly so. I’m not sure what all of the other options are but I wouldn’t live with a man that I found to be merely superficially significant so I think I am safe.
I don’t understand all of this legal jargon but I think I get the gist of it. Basically, I just behave like a decent person should behave. I didn’t need papers to tell me to do that. With some people, all the papers in the world won’t make them do that.
Oh well, what can you do? I will just carry out my plan. Nothing in it can be misconstrued as cohabitating meretriciously. At least not that I am aware of. See ya.
Meg
...I was just reading my divorce agreement and I noticed it had some words that I didn’t understand. Since the words had to do with alimony, I thought I should know what they meant. According to the papers, I cannot collect alimony if I “cohabit meretriciously” with a man. Well, it doesn’t specify man, but I think I can safely assume it means a man.
I thought I knew what cohabit was but I thought that, to be safe, I should double check. It means, according to Merriam-Webster’s, “to live together as man and wife.” Then, it says something about buffaloes and crossbred cows but I don’t think that had anything to do with it. I was right as to what I thought cohabit meant.
Now, I had never heard the word meretriciously so I had no idea what that meant. It is an interesting word. It comes from the French merere meaning "to earn". The definitions of meretricious are; “of or relating to a prostitute.”, “tawdrily and falsely attractive." and “superficially significant.”.
I still don’t know what it means in relationship to my divorce. Can I cohabitate with a man if I don’t charge him for sex? Can I charge him for sex but then have to kick him out in the morning? Does it have something to do with a bordello? I can run one as long as I don't rent out rooms?
Or, are they referring to the second definition I which case I will lose my alimony if I get plastic surgery? Is that what falsely attractive means? And how do they define tawdrily? That’s a tough one to quantify.
I could be tawdry without knowing it. Sometimes I know when I am being tawdry, but sometimes it is a judgment call.
The third definition could apply as well. Perhaps I must avoid cohabitating with a man whom I find to be important, just not terribly so. I’m not sure what all of the other options are but I wouldn’t live with a man that I found to be merely superficially significant so I think I am safe.
I don’t understand all of this legal jargon but I think I get the gist of it. Basically, I just behave like a decent person should behave. I didn’t need papers to tell me to do that. With some people, all the papers in the world won’t make them do that.
Oh well, what can you do? I will just carry out my plan. Nothing in it can be misconstrued as cohabitating meretriciously. At least not that I am aware of. See ya.
Meg
posted by Meg Kelso | 12:43 PM
1 Comments:
Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but there is NO WAY I would agree to anything like that. I could understand it if you had minor children living at home with you, but why in the world should he care if you live with someone?? I would only agree to the phrase "if you get remarried, all alimony would cease" or something to that effect. I just got divorced after being married 18 years, and frankly there is no way I would allow her to dictate any of my behaviors.....including living (or co-habitating) with someone.. I can't remember, but if you have a lawyer, I would have them change the wording on that and send the other the lawyer the corrected copy.. Now it might not mean anything to you now, but who knows what a couple of years might bring?? Just a thought...feel free to disregard if you want...I'm not a lawyer (and I don't play one on TV), but I have a dad and a sister who are, and there is no way that scuz-bucket (yes, that's a legal term) should be imposing a morality clause like that on you....
John
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