Although you might believe that marriage leads straight to a happy ever after, there are many financial considerations that can get in the way of your marriage and lead to issues later in life. Then, it is important to establish a good financial grounding soon after you are married.
Additionally, there are a number of steps that you must take legally in order to organize your finances after you have committed yourselves to each other.
Take Out Life Insurance
Now that you have a dependent, or at least someone to share your money with, it is vital that you take out the appropriate life insurance, especially if you are planning to have kids. This will ensure that if you become seriously ill, or even die, then your partner or family will be financially protected, by ensuring that the mortgage is paid off, and making sure that they gain enough income to live on. Insurance Geek can help to find the right policy to suit you and your family with their expert advice on life insurance.
Change Your Name on Financial Documents
In most instances of marriage, one partner will most likely have changed their name. Then, it is important to change your name on all of the legal and financial documents in your life. This includes aspects such as on your insurance policies, credit cards and bank account.
Contact the Tax Service
You will also need to contact the Internal Revenue Service to alert them to your marital status. Although you do not have to file a joint tax return, you may find that the amount of tax that you are charged increases or decreases; penalties are more likely to occur if you have similar incomes. When you change this, it is important to try to calculate how much tax you will now be liable for.
Update Your Will
To ensure that your spouse is protected in the event of your death, you should update your will as soon as possible. Although, in most cases, your possessions and assets will go to your next of kin, the process will run much more smoothly if you have asserted your will in a legal document. This will mean that your spouse is able to receive assets such as your possessions, property, and finances easily, protecting them from issues such as homelessness and financial issues upon your death.
Consider Your Banking
You should also consider your bank accounts when you marry. The most important consideration is whether you are going to open a joint bank account for payments such as the mortgage, or whether you will keep this separate. Although you may still want control over your finances, with many people now keeping separate bank accounts, a joint account can be recommended for shared payments that you may incur together. Although you might see a drop in your credit report soon after marriage, your credit history will not be affected unless you later open a joint account together.
