NEW YORK – As Valentine's Day approaches we're tempted to believe that love conquers all. But financial stability means acting with your head and not just your heart.
Love and money are forced to coexist in every healthy relationship. People in committed relationships should know certain key pieces of each other's personal financial information.
Married couples and those with joint investments or accounts should know the names, addresses and contact information of each other's broker, accountant, personal banker, attorney, insurance agent and financial planner.
These sources can guide you in coping with investment-management and tax issues should your spouse or partner become incapable of helping you make decisions.
Couples should also have two safe deposit boxes containing details of pension and retirement plans, wills, estate plans, insurance policies, birth certificates and financial holdings.
A copy should also be held with your lawyer as getting a bank to unseal the deposit box of a deceased customer may take weeks of wrangling with courts.
Also, keep at hand records of large purchases made together such as real estate, boats and works of art. Having ready access to information on these items will make it easier to cope if the two of you are ever separated.
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Copyright (c) 2006 MarketWatch, Inc.
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