My friend is an idiot and knocked up some girl he met in a dive bar. They're together and a couple months away from their daughter being born.
He has an engineering degree, he's a former Marine and makes $100k+ a year at 26. She's a (supposedly) former druggie paying child support for another kid who the father has. This girl is ~$50,000 in debt.
The girl wants to get married but my friend refuses. He says he'll stay together, raise the kid, get them a nice house, buy her a new car (she doesn't have one) and do whatever it takes. He even takes her son out and treats him like his kid. But he'll never marry her.
Because of our fucked up laws the moment he marries her all of her debt gets put on him. So they're staying together for the kid but he'll never marry her.
Why should my friend be punished for a mistake like that? They do like each other and he's going to be a great dad. I've known him and his family since I was young and the foundation is there. Unfortunately they'll never be a married family because he would take on her debt.
His name alone will be on their house because having her involved would limit them. You don't get a $200k loan on a house (like he did) while being $50k in debt.