WIVES MUST GET INVOLVED

If a man takes a leading role in a couple’s financial affairs and consults an adviser, the adviser should insist that the woman also takes part in the consultation, women in the financial services industry suggest.

As a wife, you are likely to outlive your spouse. For the sake of yourself and your children, you should get to know and trust an adviser and be involved in financial decisions, even if your husband feels that the finances are his responsibility.

A good adviser should encourage a male client to bring his wife or partner to at least one meeting a year, Heidi Dreyer, the head of corporate sales at Prudential Investment Managers, says. It’s too late to get to know your adviser after your spouse’s death. Plans need to be in place and the relationship established to alleviate some of the stress when a spouse dies.

Financial planner Yolande Botha says the wives of men who try to control them by not allowing them to take part in financial decisions do not learn how to manage money, yet one day they may be alone and have to do so.

A good adviser will open the discussion with a couple on issues that the woman may be afraid to raise in front of her husband, such as what would happen to her should he die, or should they get divorced.

Botha says that when you get married, you should decide which partner will be the main caregiver if you have children. Whoever it is – usually the woman – will give up some of his or her earning potential, and should be compensated in the event of divorce. The caregiver will most likely also be the one looking after the children after a divorce. The couple’s antenuptial contract should therefore reflect that the primary caregiver gets a bigger percentage – for example, 65 percent – of the assets on divorce, she says.

If this is not written into your ante-nuptial contract, the two of you should save more for the partner looking after the children, Botha says.

If you stay married, you do not have to worry about income when your partner dies. The tax burden is spread over two people, which may allow for a lower overall tax rate.