Keep your income and assets separate To keep your income and your assets separate you can do things like maintaining sole bank accounts, so there's no blending of finances, ensuring that the real property that you purchase is in your sole name and not held as joint tenants or tenants in common with your partner.
Financial agreement or prenup
If you have assets you want to protect, such as property or super, you can ask your partner to sign a binding financial agreement. This is also known as a prenup. A financial agreement sets out how your assets and money are divided if your relationship breaks down.
There's no rule that getting married means you have to combine everything, including money. For couples in certain situations, such as blended families, couples with financial incompatibility or a spouse with an inheritance, it may be best to keep at least some finances separate.
Financial infidelity occurs when couples lie to each other about money matters. It can include things like hiding debt, hiding big purchases, and lying about income. Financial infidelity can drastically affect trust between partners and the financial stability of the relationship.
Micro cheating refers to acts of seemingly trivial, inappropriate behaviors that occur outside of one's devoted relationship, often done unintentionally.
Although it is not grounds for terminating the union, financial infidelity can contribute to marital problems. If you are divorcing, it is necessary to make sure that you know all of the assets that belong to both spouses.
Financial agreements
You can make a financial agreement before your marriage or de facto relationship, during the relationship or after the relationship ends. For a financial agreement to be legally binding, both you and your partner must get independent legal advice and you must both sign the agreement.
Financial experts won't deny that joint accounts can have benefits for a couple, but for some experts those benefits can be maintained even with separate accounts. Plus, separate accounts may prevent uncertainties about each other's spending habits that occur with a joint account.
Keep separate accounts, but make equal payments
Many couples find it easiest to maintain separate financial accounts with their own funds. From there, they contribute equally to shared expenses.
If you are in a financially and/or physically abusive relationship, you should seek additional support: Reach out to family members and friends and let them know what's going on, and work with a therapist or trusted mental health professional to create a safe exit plan.
When you're sharing responsibility for finances, a compromise could be the best way to go. You can open a joint account to take care of the bills, but keep your own accounts to pay for the things you individually want. It's a great way to make budgeting easier and keep some independence and privacy.
50/50 split: if you both have similar incomes, this option is optimal. This can mean splitting every bill down the middle (which is honestly more tedious), or each person is responsible for a certain amount of bills that total up approximately the same amount.
In a marriage, it is important that both the partners contribute equally to the financial matters. If one person solely handles the financial matters in a marriage, it can lead to conflict. It would be great if each partner contributes to household expenses and has their own money within easy access for themselves.
If you and your spouse have different activities or hobbies, discuss a monthly budget for each. It shows your partner that you can compromise to make both of you happy which can prevent financial conflicts from spending habits. You don't have to limit yourself to banking applications only to review finances.
Beyond showing trust, a joint account also helps provide a layer of transparency, something separate bank accounts cannot. With shared responsibility for the same account, each partner can keep track of how much money is coming in and how much is going out.
Cons of Joint Bank Accounts
A joint bank account can cause disagreements on spending autonomy, responsibilities and ownership of assets and money. Partners with a joint bank account may feel they have to ask for permission to spend money.
What is grey divorce? This is a term coined for persons divorcing in their later years. However, some couples may not have married, but when separating in their later years, may fall under the de facto provisions of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
Essentially, super is considered as property in the event of a relationship breakdown, so like any other asset it can be divided between partners by agreement or court order. This includes marriage or de facto relationships, both heterosexual or same sex.
In Case Of Divorce, Who Gets What, Australia? If the parties cannot decide how the assets are to be decided, it's left up to the family court to decide. As per the law, there's no strict formula for a divorce settlement in Australia. Contrary to popular perception, there's no 50-50 split rule.
Lying to your partner
Lying to or hiding things from your partner is a sure-shot way to ruin your relationship. Even if you're doing it to protect them, keeping little things from the person you love can grow into huge problems and cause trust issues.
While financial infidelity can and has led to the termination of many marriages, relationships can survive if spouses make a mutual commitment to be honest and communicate. Frequently reviewing bills and financial statements together and having ongoing discussions about future goals are essential.
While cheating and adultery will not affect your ability to divorce, it certainly can determine if the divorce no-fault or fault. Additionally, adultery can also have an impact on the decisions made during the divorce process, including alimony and property division.