![]() ![]() To start on the right foot with your other half and avoid resentment from brewing, schedule a time to sit down with them, ideally before tying the knot, to discuss pre-acquired debts and how to deal with them fairly. A joint bank account could be vulnerable to your spouse's creditors, while leaving your precious dollars in an individual account can protect them. Likewise, if your spouse entered the marriage with student loans, credit card debt, or alimony and/or child support payments, joining accounts could result in having some of your hard-earned income garnished to pay off those debts-not something that someone who is debt free with a pristine FICO score might be on board with. If you transfer it to a joint account, your spouse may have a claim to half of it in the event of a divorce. The same holds true for that $50,000 inheritance from your grandfather. Anything you acquired while single, like that $30,000 in your savings account, won't be considered marital property, so it may not make sense to merge it into a shared account. 1 Getting married later means you're likely to bring more to the union-not just life experience and wisdom, but also financial assets. Americans are waiting longer to settle down-the average age of a first-time bride is 27, up from age 20 in 1960. Here are some benefits of separate accounts for you and your spouse to consider: As in the case of a snoring partner relegated to a separate bed, separate bank accounts might even save a marriage. I soon learned that married life was complicated-that, in fact, there are many good reasons for maintaining separate bank accounts in marriage it might actually make a relationship stronger. As far as I was concerned, a joint bank account was de rigueur, like sharing a bed. ![]() Maybe I was just old fashioned, but when I got married, I assumed that everything would merge: family, households-and money. ![]()
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