Thumb of Michigan | JM14 - 12/6/2023 11:04
My wife and I are newly married and have a meeting with the bank next week regarding joint bank accounts.
I have a personal account which my off farm job direct deposits into and also a business account that I run the farm from.
My wife also works in town and has her own personal account.
What are the pros and cons of combining accounts? Which accounts should be combined, if any at all?
Currently I transfer most of my town jobs earnings every month to support the farm account. We are on the same page to grow the farm together but are looking for opinions.
Thanks in advance.
Wife and I were both married before. Money management (lack of) was an issue with both of the previous spouses. That soured us on joint accounts.
And yes, we both understand fully about being obligated to the spouse's spending habits, good or bad.
When we got married, we both had personal checking accounts. I had 2 different business accounts as well, and she started a business soon after we were married. We were not involved in each other's business in any way. No real reason to combine those that either of us could come up with.
Since getting married 35 years ago, we have changed things somewhat. Mostly out of convenience. We have a joint credit card for living expenses. My personal checking account is now joint with her. She still uses her own personal checking account, however. Again, it works best for us.
Thats a long way around to what I'd maybe suggest. Each of you maintains your own personal accounts as is. Open a joint account for living expenses. You can each contribute to that however you'd like to split it up. You can also easily have signatory authority on each other's personal accounts for a "just in case" scenario.
I know many who, after marriage, are able to make all accounts as joint accounts work. And that great. Its also not a one size fits all deal at all, either. Nothing to do with trust.
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Combining Finances
