BUSINESS

Marrying your finances: Tips for newlywed physicians

How you combine -- or don't combine -- your debts and assets after you exchange "I do's" may be key to a happy marriage and a happy pocketbook.

By Katherine Vogt, AMNews staff. Aug. 16, 2004.

With memories of their tropical Hawaiian wedding still fresh in their minds and warming their hearts, Drs. Lara and Charles Mashek of Fort Smith, Ark., wasted little time in getting to some less-romantic newlywed business: merging their finances.

The couple, married in December 2003, sought to devise a plan to combine their debts and manage their expenses together, even though Lara Mashek, MD's debt was much higher than her husband's. Dr. Lara Mashek, a second-year resident in family medicine, is carrying about $138,000 in educational debt, and Charles Mashek, MD, who took time off to get a master's degree in public health and is looking for a residency program, is adding another $50,000.

Dr. Lara Mashek said that before the wedding, the couple discussed her much higher debt, but decided to take a unified approach. "We kind of view it as 'our' student loans," said Dr. Charles Mashek. "We plan to be together for a very long time."

There is no formula dictating the correct way for couples to merge their finances, but experts say there are several considerations that, if weighed carefully, can help newlyweds survive this transition. They say giving serious thought to issues such as joint banking, merging debt, the titling and holding of assets, tax and estate planning and keeping financial documents up to date goes a long way in helping couples combine their financial lives without a lot of strife.

And experts say the Masheks handled things well by discussing how they would marry their finances even before they officially married each other.

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