Common Denominator Found in Divorcing Couple & Ways to Avoid It

By Emily Chambers for CoilLaw

Because we’re in the family law business, we see a lot of marriages fall apart and we often see patterns of why they do. For us, the biggest identifier that marriage is falling apart seems to be a loss of trust between partners. This could happen for many reasons, but in this article, we’d like to address when couples lose or have never had financial trust in each other.

Because marriage is supposed to be built on trust and transparency, we are amazed at how many couples maintain separate bank accounts throughout or at some point during the marriage. According to a TD Bank Survey, 42% of couples who have joint accounts also use separate accounts. When a partner starts putting income in a bank account that the other can’t see, the other partner is bound to eventually get suspicious. Studies have even shown that couples who divide all their income are less happy than those who pool at least 70% of their income. It seems that when you divide income, you spend more time arguing about money. And if you are using separate money, it seems easier to walk away from the marriage during hard times.

Besides happiness and longer-lasting marriage, think of the other perks of having joint accounts:

Administrative ease
Simpler to budget
Funds more readily available at all times
Always accessible to both partners, heaven forbid one of you dies.

There are some instances when maintaining separate bank accounts at the beginning of a marriage may be best, depending on debt prior to marriage or personalities (like if one partner is a shopaholic). If you do decide to have some separate accounts, communicate. Be transparent with each other about the accounts and agree together how much will go into each account and when, and then set up autopay. If you are looking into divorce because trust has broken down, we’re here for you. You need to ensure you consult with a competent family law attorney that understands the financial issues and practices during a divorce.

At CoilLaw, LLC, Salt Lake City Divorce attorney Jill Coil knows how to advise you during a divorce to help you achieve the best settlement and/or result possible. At CoilLaw we are ready and available to help you through your legal action. If you need legal advice concerning a Utah family law issue, call Jill Coil at CoilLaw LLC in Utah at (801) 939-6027 today.