Advise on joint accounts possible pit falls

[bubaluchy]

My partner and I are about to move in together this will be a first for me, he wants to open a joint account that all our bills get paid from, I am concerned about how this works, do any of you do this?
What are the possible pit falls.
Thank you for any advise

DW and I did this when we moved in and it worked so well that we still do it. All you do is open the account together and agree how much you'll each put in every month. Then all the direct debits to pay the bills come out of that account. We also use ours to pay a joint credit card, each putting in half the amount when it's due to be paid.

I would recommend not having debit cards or ATM cards on the account to reduce the risk of one of you accidentally spending money from the account.

We do this and find it absolutely fine. We each hbe a standing order of £xxx into the account each month, and then all the mortgage payments/bills/etc get paid by standing order or direct debit from it. Then whatever we do with what is left in our own individual accounts is our own business.

I really can't think of any pitfalls, to be honest, especially if you do what nocake suggests, and have no cards linked to the account.

Pitfalls are only really present if one party is not as good with money as the other or when a relationship ends whether through break up or worse death.
We have separate accounts that our pay goes into and then we each put a set amount in DH weekly as he gets paid weekly and me monthly as I take monthly drawings from business. The child benefit also goes in there to.

Only other pitfall is if one of you has poor credit history (or develops it at a later date) as it will impact both you're credit scores if you are financially linked. If you are concerned about access to the account, most banks can arrange for no funds to be withdrawn without both of you signing to authorise it, although if you do this you won't have online access to it.

Agree with no cards if DDs are coming out of the account.

Dh and I only have joint accounts, a current account, a saving account and a joint credit card. But we have been married nearly 25 years and I haven't always worked, so maybe a little old-fashioned Both our wages go in and all the bills come out of the same account. It has never caused us any problems.

You may also want to check what happens if one of you wants to close the account?

What happened for me was when I split up with my ex, the bank kindly put a stop on any withdrawals unless we both signed. Some banks won't do that so you end up in a situation where your "ex" can spend money and there's little you can do yet you are jointly liable for the debts he's racking up.

I know it will seem a million miles from how you feel right now whilst you are all loved up but it's better knowing than not.

As others have said, if you have similar values with money and can communicate together then having a joint bank account is no bad thing. I have one now with my new partner and it's fostered a sense that we are a single family unit rather than 2 people with our own money.

Thanks all so much for this advice it's brilliant thanks