Some women still leave the financing to their significant other.  And that spells trouble if the bill-paying spouse dies, or leaves the relationship.  Owner of Gardner Estate & Trust, CPA, Ronda Gardner and Susan Speirs, CEO of Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants have stories of women arriving destitute in their offices 18-months after the death of a spouse because they never learned about the family's finances.

Spouses need to educate each other in where the assets are kept.  Who is the family CPA, real estate agent, financial planner?  Which banks house the cash, 401k and IRA accounts?  Weekly, or monthly, meetings are a must for a married couple.  Even if only one person is in charge of finances, the other must know how it works.

What if you survived an abusive relationship and now it's over.  If you were forced to sign financial paperwork without knowing what it actually contained, you could be eligible for Innocent Spouse Relief when tax season rolls around.