Totally OT... If you're married,

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

Look into what the credit rating agencies are doing on "authorized users". If you have credit accounts in your name with the spouse as an "authorized user", the spouse won't exist if you go. Google it. Now.

 

We have a shared credit card account that we use for almost all of our credit purchases, but we also each have credit accounts in our own name with no shared access. If one of us keels over, the other still has a good credit rating to lean on.

 

This makes sense. We are co-signers on almost everything so we both maintain excellent credit.

 

The proposed new rules for shared access accounts open the door to a situation where if a married couple that has one name on the credit cards with "shared access" for the spouse, the spouse would have no credit rating at all in the event of a divorce or being widowed. So it's important for each of you to have your own singly held account(s)

 

This is a very good point. My wife has her own credit accounts, and I have mine and we have a couple of joint ones. I want her to be established and completely self-sufficient in case anything happens to me.

[PBBPaul]

That is an interesting point. I'll have to remember to ask our financial advisers about it. I'm not concerned because we both have excellent credit individually and jointly but it is something to be aware of. My wife has set up most of the credit cards we've had recently but I have a good enough standing on my own too.

[MILLO]

We have joint accounts. We have nothing to hide. My wife is the only person on this planet I totally trust.

 

 

The fact that a couple might each maintain separate accounts is in no way indicative of "something to hide". I'm not even sure how one would draw that conclusion.

+1...

 

We're not even married yet and I always tell the future-missus about my purchases even when I plan to buy/sell a friggin' pedal or books/cd's from amazon, itunes. She does the same.

 

Still, I plan to make a joint account and keep the personal accounts.

[A String]

We have joint accounts. We have nothing to hide. My wife is the only person on this planet I totally trust.

 

 

The fact that a couple might each maintain separate accounts is in no way indicative of "something to hide". I'm not even sure how one would draw that conclusion.

 

I can't speak for HT, but I'm sure he wasn't referring to everyone that has separate accounts.

 

Some couples have separate accounts so they can hide funds from their spouse, a bad practise IMO and I'm sure what HT was referring to.

[Hardtail]

We have joint accounts. We have nothing to hide. My wife is the only person on this planet I totally trust.

 

 

The fact that a couple might each maintain separate accounts is in no way indicative of "something to hide". I'm not even sure how one would draw that conclusion.

 

My wife has her personal account, and I have mine. We both have direct deposit, and we just split the deposits so the most of our paychecks go into out joint account, but we each keep $xxx from each check for ourselves which is automatically deposited into our individual accounts. She can spend her money on whatver she wants to, and I can spend mine on whatever I want to. We probably have more disposable income than many couples. Anything that comes out of the joint account is for the household.

 

Neither of us have anything to hide from the other. It just means that she has something that is hers and I have something that is mine....she has her own identity and I have mine. I can freely spend (or save) the money in my account and she can do the same with hers. In fact, the last thing I spent my money on was to take the family on vacation to Charleston.

 

I suppose if I didn't trust her, I might demand that all of our collective moneys be in one account so I could easily monitor what she spends.......

 

Wow Yeti... I wasn't trying to step on your nuts.

[gitfidler]

Two incomes, one account. I skim a little off my paycheck for walking-around-money. She keeps the checkbook and buys stuff if she wants it and thinks we can afford it. If I get a bad attack of GAS I'll take a side construction job over a few weekends.

She is a terrific money manager and makes a good living; I balance the checkbook, so I see it all. It's a great transparent system for us.

The only thing I don't have, A., is a marriage where WE have ever needed a new guitar. Lucky you!

[A String]

The only thing I don't have, A., is a marriage where WE have ever needed a new guitar. Lucky you!

 

It works out fairly well. Most of the year, we are buying small things for her (she is into aquariums so we are always buying fish etc. for her.) Myself, I make larger purchases, once or twice a year. In the end, it works out to be about the same, but it really doesn't matter. The way it works out, we both wind up getting what we want eventually and being happy.

[Guitar Geezer]

Joint - for 20+ years.

 

Thanks Bilster, gotta check our Debit/Credit card (only one we have) and see if it is Shared or what...........

[Darcy H]

My wife was VERY big about her independance, so everything is kept seperate at her request. I don't really care one wy or the other. I make 4 times her salary, so I pay for everything and she buys herself clothes. Seems to work.

[Rhino Madness]

Another thing to keep in mind in the event one of the spouses passes away (as much as we don't want to think about it, it will eventually happen)...

 

Depending on where you live, all joint accounts might get frozen while the paperwork gets filed and processed after one owner of a joint account dies and that process can easily take a month or more. And yes, even if you are the only person entitled to that account, it may not be accessible to you for several weeks.

 

So it would be prudent to look into the laws where you live regarding this and make sure you either each have your own personal account (or a cash reserve) that contains enough money to cover roughly a month's worth of expenses in case of a tragedy.

[A String]

Another thing to keep in mind in the event one of the spouses passes away (as much as we don't want to think about it, it will eventually happen)...

 

Depending on where you live, all joint accounts might get frozen while the paperwork gets filed and processed after one owner of a joint account dies and that process can easily take a month or more. And yes, even if you are the only person entitled to that account, it may not be accessible to you for several weeks.

 

So it would be prudent to look into the laws where you live regarding this and make sure you either each have your own personal account (or a cash reserve) that contains enough money to cover roughly a month's worth of expenses in case of a tragedy.

 

I learned this first hand. A few years back, I had some work done by a lawyer. I paid them but they wound up giving me part of it back. They sent me a check, made out to the "Estate of ...". I deposited it using a bank machine.

 

The next day, I went out and did some groceries. I went up to the check out and attempted to pay with my debit card (Check card for those of you in the states). The purchase was declined. I knew I had enough in the bank.

 

Anyway, when I got to the bank, they told me that the account had been frozen as one of the joint holders had passed away. My wife was with me and we were both very much alive. After showing her our ID and discussing the situation, it became evident to the teller that we were both still alive and she reopened the account.

 

They had closed it because of the check. When they saw the check made out to the Estate of..., they assumed I was dead.

 

If I had passed away, my wife would have been out of luck for a while as the account was frozen right away.

[PBBPaul]

Another thing to keep in mind in the event one of the spouses passes away (as much as we don't want to think about it, it will eventually happen)...

 

Depending on where you live, all joint accounts might get frozen while the paperwork gets filed and processed after one owner of a joint account dies and that process can easily take a month or more. And yes, even if you are the only person entitled to that account, it may not be accessible to you for several weeks.

 

So it would be prudent to look into the laws where you live regarding this and make sure you either each have your own personal account (or a cash reserve) that contains enough money to cover roughly a month's worth of expenses in case of a tragedy.

 

We've recently moved almost all of our assets to a private trust specifically to avoid this type of problem as well as many others.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Another thing to keep in mind in the event one of the spouses passes away (as much as we don't want to think about it, it will eventually happen)...

 

Depending on where you live, all joint accounts might get frozen while the paperwork gets filed and processed after one owner of a joint account dies and that process can easily take a month or more. And yes, even if you are the only person entitled to that account, it may not be accessible to you for several weeks.

 

So it would be prudent to look into the laws where you live regarding this and make sure you either each have your own personal account (or a cash reserve) that contains enough money to cover roughly a month's worth of expenses in case of a tragedy.

 

We've recently moved almost all of our assets to a private trust specifically to avoid this type of problem as well as many others.

 

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

We have joint accounts. We have nothing to hide. My wife is the only person on this planet I totally trust.

 

 

The fact that a couple might each maintain separate accounts is in no way indicative of "something to hide". I'm not even sure how one would draw that conclusion.

 

My wife has her personal account, and I have mine. We both have direct deposit, and we just split the deposits so the most of our paychecks go into out joint account, but we each keep $xxx from each check for ourselves which is automatically deposited into our individual accounts. She can spend her money on whatver she wants to, and I can spend mine on whatever I want to. We probably have more disposable income than many couples. Anything that comes out of the joint account is for the household.

 

Neither of us have anything to hide from the other. It just means that she has something that is hers and I have something that is mine....she has her own identity and I have mine. I can freely spend (or save) the money in my account and she can do the same with hers. In fact, the last thing I spent my money on was to take the family on vacation to Charleston.

 

I suppose if I didn't trust her, I might demand that all of our collective moneys be in one account so I could easily monitor what she spends.......

 

Wow Yeti... I wasn't trying to step on your nuts.

 

H/T...you didn't, man. That's why I hate this medium...you can't get the tone of voice and facial expression parts of the communication.

 

Just expressing a POV counter to yours....certainly no anger or defensiveness was intended....just debate.

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

Another thing to keep in mind in the event one of the spouses passes away (as much as we don't want to think about it, it will eventually happen)...

 

Depending on where you live, all joint accounts might get frozen while the paperwork gets filed and processed after one owner of a joint account dies and that process can easily take a month or more. And yes, even if you are the only person entitled to that account, it may not be accessible to you for several weeks.

 

So it would be prudent to look into the laws where you live regarding this and make sure you either each have your own personal account (or a cash reserve) that contains enough money to cover roughly a month's worth of expenses in case of a tragedy.

 

I learned this first hand. A few years back, I had some work done by a lawyer. I paid them but they wound up giving me part of it back. They sent me a check, made out to the "Estate of ...". I deposited it using a bank machine.

 

The next day, I went out and did some groceries. I went up to the check out and attempted to pay with my debit card (Check card for those of you in the states). The purchase was declined. I knew I had enough in the bank.

 

Anyway, when I got to the bank, they told me that the account had been frozen as one of the joint holders had passed away. My wife was with me and we were both very much alive. After showing her our ID and discussing the situation, it became evident to the teller that we were both still alive and she reopened the account.

 

They had closed it because of the check. When they saw the check made out to the Estate of..., they assumed I was dead.

 

If I had passed away, my wife would have been out of luck for a while as the account was frozen right away.

 

Wow. I'll bet you were glad to know they were mistaken about your demise.

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

We have joint accounts. We have nothing to hide. My wife is the only person on this planet I totally trust.

 

 

The fact that a couple might each maintain separate accounts is in no way indicative of "something to hide". I'm not even sure how one would draw that conclusion.

 

I can't speak for HT, but I'm sure he wasn't referring to everyone that has separate accounts.

 

Some couples have separate accounts so they can hide funds from their spouse, a bad practise IMO and I'm sure what HT was referring to.

 

Yeah, that is definitely a bad practice...but I'm pretty sure those relationships are doomed no matter how they handle their finances......if there's deception in that area, you can pretty well bet that the whole relationship is based on deception.