CHATTING bills, wills and spending at the tills with your other half may be the best Valentine’s Day gift you ever share. More than half of those in long-term relationships say they are not open with their partner about their finances, according to pensions firm Portafina. This can have devastating consequences – including divorce. Today […]
CHATTING bills, wills and spending at the tills with your other half may be the best Valentine’s Day gift you ever share.
More than half of those in long-term relationships say they are not open with their partner about their finances, according to pensions firm Portafina. This can have devastating consequences – including divorce.
Today we look at “financial date nights” long-term couples should have, to protect each other.
A QUARTER of couples don’t feel comfortable discussing money, and risk breaking up over it.
Never finding a good time, feeling embarrassed and worrying about how their other half might respond, are why couples avoid it, a Marks & Spencer Bank survey found.
But being honest about what you earn, whether you are a shopaholic, whether you have debts, and whether you like to save, can be key to a strong relationship, says psychologist Emma Kenny.
She recommends couples have an “almost business-like” meeting about money early on in their relationship, with regular monthly finance reviews.
She says: “Here you can discuss any big purchases you may wish to make, or look at how you can cut back.”
This is an opportunity to come clean about your debts, according to the charity Stepchange, because keeping them secret from your partner can cause extra stress – leading to arguments, anxiety or depression.
It could breach trust between you both, and their credit rating could be affected if you miss or reduce debt payments from your joint account.
Talking about money can be awkward, so maybe do it over a glass of wine – but not too many as it’s a serious topic.
KEEPING records of passwords for things such as your iPhone, email and bank accounts could save your partner from huge legal battles if one of you is taken ill or dies suddenly.
Property adviser and mum Rachel Thompson, 44, from Chiswick, West London, told of the nightmare of not being able to remember her husband’s Apple access code after he died in 2015.
She spent three years and thousands of pounds fighting Apple to open his account, which contained a precious archive of family photos.
After winning her case last May, she said the battle had dragged out the grieving process.
Under UK law, the loved ones of people who pass away have no legal right to access information held in the deceased’s online accounts.
There are different ways of sharing passwords and login details.
Some people use password-protected USB sticks, which you can get for £7 from Currys PC World, while others use free password managing programmes such as LastPass, KeePass and Dashlane.
Or you could just write them down in a notebook.
Whatever you do, remember to keep them secure and up to date.
Recording complicated passwords is a fiddly and tedious job. Get some tasty, non-messy snacks to keep you both going while you work through this job.
IT can be a rather morbid task, but making out a will could save your beloved from later losing thousands of pounds in inheritance money.
For those married without children, this is not an issue – the widow just inherits everything.
But unmarried partners won’t get anything without a will in place, because the money would instead go to other relatives. They would then have to go to court to get some financial provision, but this would only be enough to cover maintenance.
Shona Lowe, from financial planning firm 1825, said: “This has been known to cause significant family rifts as the partner could essentially be fighting for money that would otherwise be going to their children.”
In England and Wales, if a married parent dies without a will, the children will inherit part of the estate if it’s worth more than £270,000 – which could cause a load of unnecessary admin for grieving families.
When sorting your will, also set up a lasting Power of Attorney, which means granting a trusted relative the authority to look after your finances if you’re no longer well enough to do it.
Get your will sorted by a solicitor then push out the morbid thoughts with some healthy exercise, whether it be a dance class, gym, or even just a long walk together.
YOU might not fancy the typical £30,000 cost of a wedding – but not tying the knot can mean losing thousands of pounds in valuable benefits and tax perks.
Chief among these is inheritance tax. Married people or civil partners can pass on their whole estate to each other without paying it, but couples who have not tied the knot can face hefty tax bills when leaving money to one another.
It’s the reason why the late comedian Sir Ken Dodd and his life-long partner Anne Jones rushed to marry just before he died in 2018.
The marriage tax allowance is another bonus.
It allows spouses who earn less than £12,500 a year to transfer part of their tax-free allowance to their partner – a rebate worth around £250 a year.
Married people also get cheaper car-insurance premiums.
But cohabiting couples – of whom there are more than 3million in the UK – are advised not to rush into marriage too quickly, because divorce can end up costing them a whole load more money.
Planning an evening discussing whether to get married is the perfect excuse to go out for a nice meal together.
