Married Women - Don't Make These Financial Mistakes

"Love is blind" is the saying. It's true, especially if it comes to financial decisions in the marriage. Oftentimes, one spouse trusts the other to handle the financial responsibilities. Most often, it's the wife, who relinquishes the financial decisions to the husband. This can have disastrous consequences, if the marriage ends through divorce or the spouse's untimely death. Even, if the 'responsible' spouse falls ill and is unable to continue the financial decisions, it can have terrible consequences for the family.

My mother is 'old generation'. She quit her job, when her first child was born. She handed over all the financial responsibilities to my father. This worked out great for several decades. However, my father became ill and required a lengthy hospital stay. My mother was unfamiliar with modern banking. She did not even have a driver's license. Fortunately, we, her children, were old enough to help out. My father was able enough to let us know where to find things like ATM cards and insurance information. My mother learned her lesson and became more involved. Granted, this was a minor problem. You might even think you are a modern woman and familiar with the banking stuff and such. You might have your own ATM and credit card. But do you really know your family's finances, if your spouse handles the money?

If you blindly trust your spouse, you might be in for a rude awakening. Do you know, if your spouse really made the right financial decisions? How close are you to bankruptcy? Is your spouse hiding money from you? If your spouse is preparing for a divorce, assets are easier to hide from you, if you are ignorant of the financial matters. You might feel you are financially well off even if out of the blue your spouse decides to divorce you. However, once the money is hidden away, it will be difficult to recover your portion. Furthermore, assets acquired before the marriage will return to the respective spouse. You have no right to your share in it. Thus, if your spouse brought the house into the marriage, your spouse will take it with him out of the marriage.