Why You Didn’t Know Marriage Is Business Too

Getting married? Understand the financial implications first. Just like business, yes, it’s that serious.

Still wondering why the marriage topic in a business newspaper like Prime Business Africa. It’s simple. Everything is business including marriage. So let’s blog about it.

Truth is, getting married changes your financial life in profound ways.

Whether you’re getting hitched for the first time or remarrying after a divorce or death, it’s smart to sit down with your partner well before the wedding to talk about these issues and do some financial planning. Granted, it’s not the most thrilling premarital activity. But the decisions that you and your future spouse make about how to handle money will have long-term repercussions for you—not just as individuals, but as a couple, whether you choose to combine your finances completely or keep certain things separate.

Your choices will have not only financial implications but also emotional and legal ones. A little preparation now will pay off handsomely later.

At Prime Business Africa, we care and that’s why we bring you this easy-to-ignore topic just for your attention and subsequent action.

You may do well to SHARE this post with your friends and family who are yet to say the big YES to their heartthrobs.

Some handy tips and takeaways:

• Partners should fully disclose their assets, liabilities, and credit reports to each other before marriage.
• Financial decisions around wedding budgets will affect couples for years—for better or for worse.
• Marriage can have major financial benefits, especially if you understand the best way to file your taxes as a couple.
• Learn your state’s laws regarding marital property, and understand how assets and liabilities acquired before and after marriage will be shared.

Before You Say ‘I Do’

If this post may come in here, it is recommended that it’s high time you began to see marriage as a serious business that it is. Before you exchange vows, it’s important that you and your partner each, disclose your full financial circumstances to each other.

Because marriage is a legal and financial decision—the bills couldn’t care less how in love you are—you need to know what risks you are taking by binding yourself to another person. Disclose all assets and liabilities (including those from a previous marriage, if applicable, or responsibilities that you have for members of your immediate or extended family).  Sit down and review each other’s ‘balance sheets’ together and discuss the concerns.