Assets

 

This question normally comes up in the context of divorce, but it can be worth considering for couples who plan to remain married, as well. Depending on your state’s estate-tax limits — and potential future changes to federal estate-tax laws— it can be beneficial for couples to try to balance out the assets owned by each individual. It’s also important for each member of a couple to have their own retirement assets.

Single-company risk

If any one stock accounts for a large share of your net worth, that might be cause for concern. That’s particularly true in the case of employer stock because it means that your human capital — your ability to generate income and earn a living — and financial capital both depend on the fortunes of one company.

Liquidity and valuation issues

For most assets, valuation is straightforward. But things get a bit trickier for collectibles that aren’t liquid, such as antiques and baseball cards. For any physical assets, make sure all of these assets are both securely stored and itemized on their homeowners’ insurance policy.

Number of accounts

Life is complicated enough without having a bunch of financial accounts scattered across different institutions. It’s easy to accumulate multiple accounts if you changed jobs and never moved assets from a previous employer’s plan or set up different IRAs at different times. But the hassle of keeping track of account numbers, passwords, and updated account balances may not be worth it. That’s particularly true for investors approaching age 73, when required minimum distributions kick in.

Investors don’t have to take RMDs from each account but will need to base their withdrawals on the account totals in every covered account. Having a limited number of accounts to deal with also makes things easier for family members if you die or become incapacitated.