Financial Questions For Your Partner

The state of your partner’s finances may not be an easy subject to broach, but if a relationship starts to become serious, it’s an important area to cover. If you’re considering moving in with someone, you need to understand their attitude to finances and any issues they might have. Money problems can have an impact on a relationship, so it’s best to have everything in the open from the beginning.

Attitude to Finances

Most financial problems won’t be that major, such as buying the odd pair of shoes or splurging on a weekend away. However, it’s important to discuss how you both approach your finances, as small secrets in the beginning could get bigger in the future. Most couples look at how compatible they are in other areas of their lives, but they don’t always factor in financial similarities and differences.

If one of you likes to save a percentage of your income every month, whereas the other would rather spend what they have, you might develop issues further into your relationship. You should talk about your feelings around money, how you both manage it and your goals for the future.

Debts

Your new partner might look like they have a fantastic lifestyle, but is this actually achievable on their income or have they run up large debts? You need to understand if they’re hiding credit card debts or personal or secured loans before you become financially joined. If they do have debts from the past or financial problems, these need to be addressed at the beginning. Look at ways in which you can help them before it becomes too late. It’s vital that these old debts are kept in your partner’s name or you could become liable for them if you separate.

There might also be issues with your credit rating if you have joint finances or can be linked through your address. You need to consider these issues before the relationship becomes too serious, as repayments would account for a large percentage of your partner’s income, leaving you contributing more to the household bills.

The Future

It’s never too early to start thinking about your pension and retirement plans. However, many adults don’t have any financial arrangements in place and don’t know what provisions their partner has made. If your pension was set up before your relationship, you should make sure the name of the beneficiary has been changed to your current partner if this is where you want the money to go. When you start living together or get married, you need to understand what arrangements have been made should either of you die.

Life Insurance

This is another area that is often overlooked when starting a new relationship. When you’re younger, the prospect of dying seems a long way off, but you never know what will happen in the future. Life insurance becomes even more important it you have children together or joint financial commitments, such as a mortgage or homeowner loans. You need to know that both of you will be financially secure should the other pass away, and it’s not an area that you can leave to chance. Individual policies are usually the best option, as joint cover might only pay out when the first partner dies.

Do You Have a Will?

Whatever stage your relationship is at, you don’t want to think about dying. However, it’s crucial that you have your financial affairs in place before anything happens. Dying without a will means that your assets won’t be split in the way you want them to be. If you live with a partner or have children, a written will provides for them in the event of your death. Unmarried partners won’t legally be entitled to anything if you have not written a will.

Household and personal finances might not be the most romantic subjects to discuss, but dealing with them in advance can prevent issues arising in the future.