you but your partner regards it as unnecessary, this can
be a big source of conflict. Windfalls such as inheritances
and redundancy payments can also cause problems. Is
it my money or yours? What if your partner’s parents
give you both a deposit for your first home then ask for
the “loan” to be returned if you separate? While you
can’t cover every possibility, Roberts says talking about
money regularly helps.UNDERSTAND CASH FLOW
Giaouris says there is no right or wrong way to handle
daily finances and expenses. “If I looked at 100 clients
they’d manage their money in 100 ways,” he says. “If one
spouse is earning most of the money, it’s important to
communicate how it is being distributed because that
partner obviously has more power financially.”
He says if the couple has a mortgage, one strategy is
to pay all salary into an offset account and distribute
it from there. But some have joint accounts, some have
accounts for different purposes such as savings, specific
expenses and direct debits while others use credit cards
for as much of the daily spending as possible and pay
them off each month from the main earner’s salary.
He says understanding your cash flow and what
you can afford to spend (having a budget) is more
important than the actual mechanics of how bills are
paid. However, he says having some “discretionary”
spending that you don’t have to explain to your partner
is also important for many couples. That can be tricky
where one partner is the sole breadwinner, though you
could pay each partner a discretionary “wage” to cover
personal spending.TOUGH DECISIONS
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) says a “pro-
nuptial” agreement can be a great starting point. Unlike
prenups, which are legal agreements designed to ensureplease
If they
feel their
partner is
letting them
down, it
can cause
problems
what you bring to the relationship remains segregated, a
pronup is more like a financial plan for couples.
“There is a reason people have chosen to spend their
lives together and a pronup is designed to underpin that
decision,” says Dante De Gori, chief executive of the
FPA. “It’s about identifying their aspirations as a couple
and how to combine their finances and what they’re
bringing to the relationship to plan for that future.”
While you can talk informally, De Gori says the
process of seeing a financial planner about a pronup
forces couples to consider questions they may not feel
comfortable talking about. These questions can include
everything from how you view money to what you want
if one of you dies or becomes disabled.
And while it can cover issues such as wealth creation,
De Gori says it should also look at basics such as budgets
and cash flow management. “Success in those basic
things underpins the future success of the plan,” he says.SUPER AND INVESTING
Wealth creation is one of the areas where two heads
can be better than one, especially if one partner earns
significantly more than the other. Giaouris says thought
should be given to who owns any investments. While
the advantages of strategies such as negative gearing
are worth more to the higher-earning partner, the lower
earner is likely to pay less tax on any income from the
investment and capital gains when they sell it.
Richard Carey, Omniwealth senior financial adviser,
says the winding back of tax concessions for super has
heightened the importance of getting twice the bang
for your buck. “The real issue is that you’re treated as
individuals, not a couple, with super,” he says. “So you
need to look at accessing two lots of benefits and also
to future-proof yourself from future changes as much
as possible.”
While legally your super will be regarded as joint