Don’t Let Money Secrets Ruin Your Relationship

YouGov surveys have repeatedly highlighted the lack of trust between partners when it comes to finances. These figures have highlighted more than ever the importance of being able to protect both your shared assets and know exactly how you would be able to safeguard your own finances in the event of a separation. Even more importantly, it shows how important transparency about finances in your relationship is. Sadly, almost a third of UK adults had little to no trust in their most recent partner when it comes to financial matters and more than a third admitted to being economical with the truth when it comes to their spending habits.

What Do the Figures Say?

The YouGov survey of 2005 UK adults over the age of 18 revealed that 32% of people have little trust in their partner when it comes to spending, budgeting and salaries. To match this, 38% of adults also admitted that they are not entirely truthful about their spending habits. Men were more likely than women to lie about their salary, with 5% saying that they had been untruthful about their wage, compared to 3% of women. 11% of the men in the survey said that they had lied about how much money they have saved, while 9% said that they had been untruthful about their credit card spending. Interestingly, trust issues in relationships seem to have changed between generations, with 18% of Generation Xers saying that they don’t trust their most recent partners with financial matters, compared to the 80% of Baby Boomers who are the most trusting.

What Should You Do?

Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to the finances that are involved within relationships. There are some tips that you can follow in order to ensure that you are not caught out in a relationship. These include:

• Have a joint net worth statement that you both update every year. This way you will be able to keep a close eye on whether your combined finances are increasing or decreasing as you would expect them to.
• Ensure that you understand any tax returns that you and your partner produce together.
• Have regular and transparent discussion about the state of your finances. If you need a finance advisor to be involved, then this may help for both of you to fully understand your situation.

Financial Settlements

Understandably, not all relationships work out and you may need help to divide your finances after the breakdown of a relationship. If you have been married and are going through a divorce, then you may need help to reach the best possible financial settlement with your former partner. The process will include:

1. Stage 1: Negotiations and disclosure
2. Stage 2: First Directions Appointment (FDA)
3. Stage 3: The Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) hearing
4. Stage 4: The Final Hearing

During this stage, our divorce solicitors can help you throughout, and will:

• Update your financial disclosures
• Prepare any narrative statements and bundles that you need
• Update your cost estimates
• Prepare your open statement of proposals on your offer, along with instructions to your barrister

If money secrets have ultimately caused harm to your relationship, then we can help you throughout the process of agreeing on a financial settlement, and make sure that you reach the best possible conclusion for all involved.

Read more on our financial settlements and divorce page.

Get in touch today for expert help and advice from our trusted solicitors.