Divorce has been on the rise but you can do certain things to prevent it. We will begin by asking you, “What do you think is one of the most difficult discussions to have with family, friends, dates, mates, etc?”

Yup – it’s the money discussion.

 

The importance of having this frank, open and honest discussion with the person you plan to spend the rest of your life with, has been talked about quite a bit by  the financial gurus in the media.  Having this discussion before you tie the knot will hopefully keep you out of divorce court later on.

Ponder these questions to discuss – to stay far away from divorce court

    • What is their parents financial situation like?
    • How do they feel about their parents financial situation?
    • Have they ever been taught financial literacy?

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Outstanding Debt questions:

      • If this is a first marriage, you would want to ask if they have any  outstanding debt:   College/School loans, Credit cards, Credit lines, Car payments,  Mortgages, etc. would be possible.
      • If this is a second marriage you would also want to ask about Alimony, Child support,  additional Mortages, additional Car payments or any other payments to an ex-apouse  that would constitute outstanding debt.
      • As difficult as it may be, if your soon to be spouse is heavily in debt, you may want to consider, and delicately ask for, a Pre-nuptial Agreement. A professional can help you with this.

Continue with these important discussions to prevent going to divorce court later on

      • How do they foresee doing your “joint’ finances? Separate acccounts? Together?  One together and each have separate?
      • How do they see doing financial management/planning?
      • Who will pay the bills – one person or divide up and do  jointly?
      • Do they believe in budgeting?
      • Are they a saver or spender?
      • How do they like to pay for things – cash, check, credit or debit card?
      • How do they shop – impulse or wait for deals and sales?  Do they use coupons?
      • Are they a risk taker with money or pretty conservative? Do they consider themselves a conservative investor? Do they like traditional or “out of the box” alternative investments?

More to Help Prevent Divorce …

Another fun idea, to help you stay far away from divorce court, is to pick a financial book you like. Ask your soon to be spouse if they’ve ever read it and if not, would they be willing to?   Get their take on the book if they’ve read (or once they read) it  and that will tell you a lot.  My girlfriend made it a policy, when she was on one of the dating sites, to look  through the books a gentleman read before she agreed to go on a date.  A great book for you to read is The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me for Women ~ You can read about it by clicking here

There are many, many additional questions you can ask – ask as many as you can possibly think of so you can have peace of mind here.

Nothing can guarantee you won’t end up in divorce court, but having an open and honest money discussion before, will hopefully give you a little insurance.