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Becoming a couple is a both a joyful and rewarding event. A strong relationship is based on trust and honesty. And this also applies to finances, an aspect all too often overlooked. Yet this is often a topic of disagreement between two people. Plan your finances properly. This will put the odds in your favour and make your life together happier and more fulfilling.
We refer to the following checklist to guide us through the process.
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Checklist - My concerns about life as a couple
Legal considerations
Personal finances
Protecting and maintaining your standard of living
Blended families
Other related sections
Legal considerations
- Consult a lawyer or a notary
- To prepare a marriage contract or cohabitation agreement stipulating our respective obligations and rights: list of each one's property, terms and conditions of ownership of property acquired jointly and subsequently, responsibilities as regards debts, division of property in the event of separation, etc.
- To review or prepare our wills. Wills are especially important if we are living common-law and wish to bequeath what we own to the other.
- To draw up or review our powers of attorney or mandates in the event of incapacity. This document will allow me to appoint another person to take care of me or administer my assets if I am incapable of doing so myself.
Review the named beneficiary:
- of our personal and group insurance contracts;
- of our investment contracts, if applicable;
- of our private pension plans, if applicable;
- of the provincial and federal pension plans;
- other.
Personal Finances
We each review our own personal balance sheet in order to determine our debts and assets. Once this is done, we will have to adopt a course of action. For instance:
- Do we combine certain debts (car, studies) or keep them separate? How will we repay them?
- Should we pool our income? We set up a budget together: we evaluate the different costs, then determine how our household expenses will be shared and what will each one pay.
- How will we manage our bank accounts? Will we have a joint account for household expenses and personal accounts for discretionary expenses (leisure activities, clothing, etc.)?
We define our joint projects. Do we want to buy a house or retire down south? Today, we will decide what we can do to make our dreams come true:
- We figure out how much we need to save up for something special.
- We look into the various products and advice offered by Desjardins Financial Security to help us reach our objectives:
We consult an accountant about our new tax situation. Thus, we will learn how we can minimize the taxes payable each year on our family income.
Protecting and maintaining your standard of living
- I contact my employer and the companies where I hold individual and group insurance policies so as to ensure my spouse also benefits from my coverage.
- We consult an advisor to determine if, in the event one of us becomes disabled, seriously ill, or in the event of death, we would be able to keep our home, satisfy our family's needs and maintain our standard of living with our income. We review our insurance portfolios and make sure we have a product that can easily be adapted to our needs and our changing situation.
Blended Families
- Blending our two families will take careful planning. Before beginning this wonderful adventure, we take a look at the situation and the key elements. We reach an agreement on the role each one will play in the education of our children and our involvement in negotiations with our exes. We also discuss our values, our principles, etc.
- We make a list of our priorities: retirement, private school, savings, travel, etc.
- Finances can be a source of many conflicts! To mitigate them, we will decide how we will share household expenses: Who will pay what and in what proportion? Will we split expenses fifty-fifty or prorate them to our income or according to the number of children we each have? It's easier to settle these practical details when all is right.
- We make a list of our financial commitments and make arrangements accordingly. We specifically address the issue of our ex-spouses (consumer debts, alimony) and our children (private school, special courses, allowance, etc.).
- Consulting an accountant or a financial planner is all the more important when two families decide to live together. The tax and financial consequences could be negative: reduction in child benefits, reduction in or loss of certain tax deductions based on family income, etc. We obtain information to know what we can expect.
- At our death, how will our personal and joint property be divided among our respective children and the surviving spouse? A will is vital, especially if one of us has not formalized the divorce.
- Each of us will make funeral arrangements in writing, to avoid conflicts among the members of our blended family.
Other related sections
We refer to the following examples of life situations for practical advice:
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- Call 1-866-838-7553 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday) or e-mail us.
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