Joint account

emilyxxx8

Hi Guys,

Me and my partner have been living together for about 3 months now. At the moment all bills and rent go out of my account and he gives me his half in cash for me to pay in to my account.

Because i have so many bills going out of my account i am not sure what i actually have left for myself. I am thinking of opening a joint account where we both have a standing order for a set amount each month to go into the joint account. Then all bills are paid from that account and whatever is left we can save towards one off expenses, oil, household appliances etc...

I have a friend who said this is what her and her partner do but neither of them are allowed to withdraw money from the account without them both signing. I think this is a good idea, i trust my partner and i know he trusts me but just 'in case'...

Can most banks set up this arrangement or are there certain ones?? Which are best??

Em xx

dzug1

Any bank should be able to do this.

jet77

Thanks for posting this - I too am looking to open a joint bank account but struggling to find the best deal. We will have no minimum amount to pay in and HSBC wanted to charge us about £10 a month for priviledge of banking with them and said they were unable to open just a standard basic joint account

getmore4less

DON'T DO IT

Not a good idea to establish a joint financial link when you don't need to and you don't just to pay bills

Just open another account in your name for joint bills and/or get him to do one as well and share the bills out do an adjustment between the account when needed.

tattycath

getmore4less wrote: »

DON'T DO IT

Not a good idea to establish a joint financial link when you don't need to and you don't just to pay bills

Just open another account in your name for joint bills and/or get him to do one as well and share the bills out do an adjustment between the account when needed.

Please can you clarify why it's a bad idea? My husband and I are thinking of opening a joint account for bills.
Any advice/opinion is much appreciated. TIA

PNPSUKNET

I have never had a problem, we have one dont even think the wife knows how to even access

blueberrypie

tattycath wrote: »

Please can you clarify why it's a bad idea? My husband and I are thinking of opening a joint account for bills.
Any advice/opinion is much appreciated. TIA

It creates a financial association, and if one of you has a less-than-perfect credit record, or does something to damage his/her credit record, both of you will be affected.

Let's say one of you has a number of missed payments/defaults that are three or four years old. All sorted now, all bills paid on time - but they're still on that credit record, and with the joint account, they'll affect both of you. Or let's say one of you misses some payments on a loan or credit-card a few months down the line - you're both affected. Or let's say you split up and one of you makes that joint account overdrawn - the other is not only legally liable for the debt, but has a damaged credit rating as a result.

If you're getting a mortgage together, there's not much you can do to avoid a financial association - but there are other ways to pay ordinary household bills without creating one.

getmore4less

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

I have never had a problem, we have one dont even think the wife knows how to even access

When she wants to leave you she might find out(in advance:D)

Day to day there is little issue it when it goes wrong you can't magicaly make it not exist and that is when the problems start.


Thare are many case where the benifits outway the potential disadvantages but paying a few bill is not one of them.

Malory

No one has said anything about their spouse/partner having credit problems or being in debt.

I imagine that if you were living with someone who was heavily in debt you would have problems, whether you shared a bank account with them or not.

If you can't trust someone with money, you probably shouldn't be living with them.

My husband and I have a joint bank account (as well as other individual accounts) and we are fine with our arrangment.

It depends on the couple.

PNPSUKNET

its all about helping each other out

CLAPTON

Malory wrote: »

No one has said anything about their spouse/partner having credit problems or being in debt.

I imagine that if you were living with someone who was heavily in debt you would have problems, whether you shared a bank account with them or not.

If you can't trust someone with money, you probably shouldn't be living with them.

My husband and I have a joint bank account (as well as other individual accounts) and we are fine with our arrangment.

It depends on the couple.

how many marriage breakdown every year?
how many relationships breakdown every year?

there's no need for a joint a/c; it have few benefits and many problems.

in a relationship with children, a mortgage or a non working partner then things are different

try reading around the loan boards... plenty of people left with significant debts by their partners or having difficult getting out or joint a/cs etc.