Should you have a joint account with your spouse?

When you’re in love, you can end up making decisions that affect you for the rest of your life.

Some decisions are positive, like choosing to get married to the right person, and others are dangerous, like committing a crime for your partner.

A common concern that people often have after marriage is, is it a good idea to have a joint account with a spouse?

There are so many horror stories of people who strongly regret their decision to open one and others who say it helped them grow as a couple.

The answer however depends on a few factors. So before you make a decision, consider these five points.

1. It might work if you have enough trust

Many people worry about opening a joint account mainly because of trust. Without it, you won’t feel comfortable opening an account with your partner and, you probably shouldn’t.

But, if you’re confident that you both have each other’s best interests at heart, this might work. You will have peace of mind knowing that you won’t have any major issues in future.

2. It can help achieve goals faster

A joint account can help you improve how you handle money as individuals. It’s almost like you both have an accountability partner in each other because you have to approve transactions.

With more accountability and discipline, you will be able to coordinate on your goals as a married couple. This is an advantage because you will have one clear vision on where you’re at, where you want to be and how to get there.

3. It might inconvenience you

People who have regretted having a joint account often talk about the risk of losing financial independence. If you have no other separate account, you will eventually feel like you are a slave to your arrangement.

And if you need to use those funds to handle an emergency, it will seriously inconvenience you because you have to go through a process. If you value your financial independence, this might not be a great idea for you.

And just a side note, some spouses can use a joint account to control or abuse their partner. If you find yourself in this situation, it will be hard for you to access even your own money.

4. It can complicate your relationship

Financial issues often affect relationships. And in this case, if you had agreed on a particular plan for your account and one of you isn’t pulling their weight, you will have problems.

It will also be a problem if you end up separating. It’s dangerous to go with blind faith because you never know what could happen. So, if you unfortunately split up, it will be a nightmare to close the account if there is a lot of bitterness and resentment involved.

There are many situations that end up causing complications so, this is also something to think about.

5. Individual debt could cause problems

When you have separate accounts, your personal debt doesn’t affect your partner’s record and vice versa.

With a joint account, the risk of having this complication is higher because, if one of you had previous debt obligations, it might drag you into their mess. Also, if they default for whatever reason, it could reflect on your record too which is risky.