ACCORDING to money couple. com, when discussing finances in a relationship, issues like joint assets and transparency usually arise.
Couples are advised to be financially transparent in their relationships so as to promote trust and openness. Couples should be able to discuss their incomes and expenditures openly.
This makes it easy to set financial goals and objectives as a couple without one party interfering with the other’s plans. It is much easier for one to respect and appreciate what their spouse is trying to achieve and their efforts, hence the need for transparency.
However, when dealing with issues of joint assets and finances, couples are advised to proceed cautiously, as rushing into such arrangements without thinking can destroy a relationship.
Much as joining assets and finances is the ideal thing for a couple to do, it may cause unrest in a relationship if certain issues are not resolved.
Couples should closely examine things like spending habits, spending priorities and the difference in salaries before deciding to jointly own their assets and finances.
Couples should ask themselves the difficult questions like; how much am I willing to give up? That should guide them on how much they are willing to share or whether they are even ready to join their assets.
Rehema Kasule, a personal and business development consultant, says couples should endeavour to share the expenditure at home regardless of what they earn.
It is important for couples to draw up a budget and know how much each should contribute and what they keep for themselves.
When it comes to managing the shared finances, she says, it is important to note that it is not about who earns how much, but who can manage the finances and expenditure better.
But people should not misuse such responsibility because it can destroy a relationship.
However, Kasule discourages the idea of entirely sharing assets as each party in the relationship needs to maintain a certain degree of independence. People should not think that couples must jointly own their assets and it is not a crime for one to refuse the arrangement.
She says sharing assets is only advisable for things like the family home or business, but not personal assets. Personal assets are those items a person holds in his or her names without any other legal entity.
“People have been known to misuse such arrangements as there are many cases of people who sell off such properties or use them as security for bank loans without their spouse’s approval,” says Kasule.
But if a couple feels like they should jointly own property, then proper contacts should be drawn up showing what percentage each party owns, what should be done if they separate and it must address all the other issues that may arise.
