Money, Honey

We all know that money and sex are the two things couples fight over the most. In most relationships there's one spouse who handles the money and one spouse who simply hands over the receipts. But, you may be doing your partner a
disservice to yourself—and the relationship—if you don't explain the rules of the game to them.

In many cases a family has a carefully constructed plan of action. Paychecks hit the bank here, bills are paid there. If they're frugal then some of that paycheck goes towards investments and savings, as well. But what happens if something were to happen to the financially savvy spouse? The other partner, having no idea what goes on in their financial world, is left out of sorts and unsure what to do. That usually means disaster when it comes time to pay the bills.

Financial planners and estate-planners are full of horror stories about couples who don't share information about their finances. For example, a husband decides to take a higher monthly pension payment that ends at this death some odd years later. If he had taken the lower pension payment, his wife would have been covered with those benefits for the rest of her life; however, since she didn't know, she ends up losing that money even though she depends on it every month. Now, something drastic has to be done
in order for her to survive.

Bottom line: make sure your spouse has knowledge of the family finances. If something happens to you, they need to know how to handle the affairs! [Kiplinger's]