Spouses

Couples who rank money and things as important might be worse off in their relationships than those who aren't as materialistic, a study finds. Researchers discovered that it may be true what they say: Money can't buy happiness. They surveyed 1,734 married couples across the U.S. about their attitudes toward relationship values and issues such as materialism, compassion, communication and the importance of marriage. Among the participants, 58.7% had either high or low levels of materialism.

The murder charges weren't for the white supremacists, even though they'd threatened to kill the Texas prosecutors threatening to put them away; nor were they for the cartels, even though they'd long ravaged law enforcement down in Mexico. Instead, officials in Texas believe a trio of slayings near Dallas boiled down to simple revenge: A disgraced former justice of the peace and his wife stand accused of murdering the Texas prosecutors who ended his career. Eric Lyle Williams, 46, was charged with capital murder Thursday, one day after his wife, Kim Lene Williams, 46, was similarly charged in two attacks that shocked Kaufman County and led to fears of an unprecedented assault on the rule of law in Texas.

Spouses tend to share various symptoms and physical limitations and are influenced by each other's health problems, according to a new study.   Researchers studied emotional and physical medical histories of more than 1,700 older couples over a 15-year period. The participants were age 76 to 90 and most had been married for several decades. The study showed that functional limitations in one spouse -- not being able to walk up stairs, for example -- could trigger depression in both spouses.

If you and your spouse are traveling together and your credit cards are from a joint account, one spouse should carry one card and the other spouse a different one. That way, if one of you has a purse or wallet stolen, the other still has a usable credit card for the rest of the trip. Ginny Gibbs Woodland Hills For your return from a foreign trip, be sure that all your purchases are packed in your own luggage. Do not share with anyone else; you must go through customs with all your purchases Jeri Taylor Indio When things go well, praise the person who has provided good service.

Here’s some breaking news: A study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Sleep Medicine Institute has found that wives can be grumpy with their husbands if they don't get a good night’s sleep. Perhaps future research can determine whether husbands tend to hog the covers, whether the other side of the pillow is in fact cooler or whether the setting sun has some effect on darkness. The researchers likely could have made the same discovery by simply talking to anyone who has ever been married.

SANFORD, N.C. - Ashley Broadway and Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack have been a couple for 15 years. Broadway attended every one of Mack's promotion ceremonies. The two lived together when Mack served on bases in Texas and Kansas. When Mack was deployed to South Korea, Broadway joined her there. She cared for their young son, Carson, when Mack was sent to Kuwait. On Nov. 10, the women legally married in Washington, D.C. Broadway began a new life as a military spouse, certain that with the repeal in 2011 of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gays from serving openly, she would enjoy the same rights as other spouses.

Should government agencies pick up the meal costs when spouses of elected officials attend out-of-town meetings and conferences? A Southeast Los Angeles County water district did just that, to the tune of several thousand dollars. In explaining a policy change two years ago, a staffer for the Central Basin Municipal Water District wrote in an internal email that spouses "help bring a different atmosphere to the business discussions between directors and other guests. " The staffer acknowledged that the policy could result in "questioning by reporters and auditors on these types of reimbursements.

Americans often tout the great freedoms that U.S. citizenship grants. But lately I have a hard time seeing it that way. Instead, I find myself toying with renouncing my citizenship. When it comes to my ability to spend my life with the person I love, this country has turned its back on me. I am a dual national. I was born in the United States to an American mother and a Spanish father. I grew up in Spain, although my family frequently jetted across the ocean to maintain bonds with family and friends.

Feuding spouses who built a wall through their three-story row house because neither would give it up cannot divorce, a jury ruled in New York. The jurors rejected the "cruel and inhuman treatment" Chana Taub cited as grounds for divorcing Simon Taub after more than 20 years of marriage. "I'm dismissing the whole case. That's it," Justice Carolyn Demarest said. To revive the case, Chana Taub would have to refile on new grounds.

Just after Wesley Bauguess' husband, Larry, an Army major, was killed in action in Pakistan in May 2007, she had to make immediate decisions, including what to do about her husband's survivor benefits. In shock and consumed by grief, Bauguess waded through confusing technical details before deciding to receive benefits in the names of her two daughters, then 6 and 4. Later, she discovered that her daughters have to file tax returns on the benefits — at a potential tax rate of 36%. They were snared by the "kiddie tax," a provision passed by Congress in 1986 to prevent wealthy parents from sheltering assets in their children's names.

"Why don't you guys move home to the States?" my friends ask. "Because," I say, "although I am American, my partner is not, and because of DOMA, I can't sponsor him for a green card. " "But you're married. " TIMELINE: Gay marriage chronology "Technically, we're civil partnered, but immigration is a federal issue. It doesn't matter that individual states recognize my relationship with my husband or partner, or whatever I choose to call him. " "But that's unfair.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - Until tax season comes around, Mary Ritchie and Kathy Bush can act like any legally married couple raising two boys. In midwinter, that means watching lots of basketball. "We go to every game and every practice," Bush said. But when they file their tax return with the federal government, they are no longer married. The return is supposed to be "true, correct and complete" by law, but they cannot check "married, filing jointly. " The loss of this routine tax break costs them as much as $6,000 a year.

WASHINGTON - An influential Republican senator involved in drafting a bipartisan immigration bill wants to lower the number of family members of U.S. citizens allowed to immigrate each year and instead increase the number of highly skilled workers. Democrats in the group have not agreed to the approach, but Democratic Senate aides concede that it could be part of the give and take of a deal. The proposal would eliminate the current preference for admitting siblings and adult children of U.S. citizens, but leave in place the preference for spouses and minor children.

Days after prominent Republicans said they were signing a legal brief arguing that gay couples have a right to marry, 278 employers have filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court, arguing the same thing. The businesses include Apple Inc., Broadcom Corp., Citigroup Inc., Facebook Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Marriott International Inc., Microsoft, Orbitz, Starbucks, Twitter and the Walt Disney Co. Chambers of Commerce in San Diego, Boston, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco also joined the brief.

Facing intense criticism, the Associated Press announced Thursday that it would revise its influential stylebook to include a single standard when referring to gay and straight spouses. It will add this entry for "husband, wife": "Regardless of sexual orientation, 'husband' or 'wife' is acceptable in all references to individuals in any legally recognized marriage. 'Spouse' or 'partner' may be used if requested. " A leaked memo had previously revealed that the massive news agency, which sets the standard for many journalists worldwide, was advising its writers to "generally" call legally married gay spouses "partners" instead of "husband" or "wife.

Ending a controversy that highlighted the unequal treatment of gay spouses in the military, an officers' spouse club at Ft. Bragg, N.C., has offered full membership to the lesbian spouse of a U.S. Army officer. Ashley Broadway, who is married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack, said she will accept the offer to join the Assn. of Bragg Officers' Spouses. Broadway said she was "overjoyed" that the group has added sexual orientation to the non-discrimination clause in its by-laws. "I have further reason to take pride in the Ft. Bragg military community, knowing that we, as military spouses, are able to come together to support each other, our soldiers, and our families," Broadway said in a statement.

The husband, pretending to be single, had gotten involved in online romances with a number of women. When one female Internet partner took him up on his invitation to come to his hometown, the man panicked and confessed to his wife. "The wife, who was shaken to the core, felt compassion for this other woman and got her a place to stay overnight," says relationships expert and author Peggy Vaughan of La Jolla. She says the couple then started to deal with their damaged marriage.

The state Supreme Court has ruled that a Contra Costa County woman who promised to take care of her ill husband was only doing her duty and is not entitled to part of his property. The court denied a new hearing sought by the woman, who said she was promised a substantial share her husband's multimillion-dollar estate if she took personal care of him during his illness.

An officers' spouse club at Ft. Bragg, N.C., has offered a "special guest membership" to the same-sex spouse of a U.S. Army officer after earlier denying the woman's application to join the private organization. Ashley Broadway, a lesbian who is married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack, rejected the offer, calling it "not only offensive, but just plain hurtful. " The club's refusal last month to admit Broadway has focused attention on the rights of same-sex military couples more than a year after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" allowed homosexuals to serve openly.  Same-sex spouses are denied many military benefits afforded opposite-sex spouses because the federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

SANFORD, N.C. - Ashley Broadway and Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack have been a couple for 15 years. Broadway attended every one of Mack's promotion ceremonies. The two lived together when Mack served on bases in Texas and Kansas. When Mack was deployed to South Korea, Broadway joined her there. She cared for their young son, Carson, when Mack was sent to Kuwait. On Nov. 10, the women legally married in Washington, D.C. Broadway began a new life as a military spouse, certain that with the repeal in 2011 of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gays from serving openly, she would enjoy the same rights as other spouses.