By Inst. of Chartered Accountants ——Bio and Archives--March 4, 2010
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1. When it comes to property, treat marriage like a business. It may not be the most romantic notion, but it’s the practical one, Melanie says. Make it your personal mission to thoroughly understand your separate and collective finances, what you have and what you’re getting into. 2. Get a marriage (prenuptial) contract or cohabitation agreement. Itemize and fully disclose exactly what you’re bringing to the marriage or relationship in terms of property, earnings and other contributions. Seek legal advice for any type of contract or agreement. 3. Plan the partnership and your own operating guidelines. Children come along, incomes rise and fall, and things happen that you never considered. The time to determine how the financial aspects of your marriage or partnership will work is before you exchange vows or move in together so do it then. 4. Don’t keep secrets. Being mum about credit card debt, old loans or financial encumbrances is not the way to start a successful financial partnership – of any kind. 5. Ignorance is NOT bliss. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Even today, Melanie says, many wives have no inkling about how their husband manages the family finances, how much debt the couple has, or even where the chequebook is. 6. Pay the bills together. Knowledge is power, but you must do the work to get it – continuously. Make sure that you seek professional tax advice upon entering into a formal relationship – it is imperative that you fully understand the new tax reality. 7. Know what the law assumes about your relationship. There are standard, legal default positions about property and responsibility in the event you die, become incapacitated or divorce. You owe it to yourself to find out what they are. 8. Together, but separate. Sharing can bring you closer, but for your own protection, maintain some funds in a personal savings account in your own name - just in case. 9. Agree on an exit strategy. There are alternative processes you can follow in the event the relationship breaks down. Full litigation can be awful to live through, Melanie says, and even worse should children be involved. Agree from the get-go how you’ll behave and handle the split-up (formally in the pre-nup) in a civil manner should it be necessary. 10. It pays to consult the professionals. This is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your life. Take the time and pay the price to have a lawyer and a Chartered Accountant advise you how best to protect yourself and your family.
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario’s 33,000 Chartered Accountants and 5,000 CA students. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s high standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct. The Institute works in partnership with the other provincial Institutes of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to provide national standards and programs that are used as examples around the world. </em>