MERGING MONEY BEFORE MARRIAGE

Got debt? Disclose how much student loan debt, credit card debt and any other debt you have, because it will affect how you work toward financial goals together. It’s also important to discuss philosophies on debt and the use of credit cards, says Ben Barzideh, a wealth adviser with Piershale Financial Group. If you have a joint credit card, make sure you’re on the same page about what’s fair game to charge. Joint credit cards or authorized users? They aren’t the same thing. If you and your partner have a joint credit card account, you have the same access to credit and responsibility over the account, says Bethy Hardeman, chief consumer advocate for Credit Karma. If one partner is an authorized user on an account, they aren’t legally responsible for any debt and usually can’t perform certain actions, such as balance transfers or redeeming rewards. But both joint account holders and authorized users have the potential to affect each other’s credit scores. What if we break up? What would happen to a joint savings account if you were to break up? What about any debt left on a shared credit card? It may be an uncomfortable conversation, but when you aren’t married, you don’t have the legal protections that come with the union and you’ll need a contingency plan in place, Carr says. How about a cohabitation agreement? It’s like a pre-nup, but for unmarried couples, Kirkpatrick says. If your relationship takes a turn, it will give you “something to fall back to that’s not emotional,” Kirkpatrick says.