Question:
My wife has put us in a lot of debt — without my knowledge or me co-signing on bank loans etc. Is this allowed to happen? In other words, can the bank give her a loan without my consent? We are married in community of property (COP) and I thought she would have to get my signature on any loan she took out.

Answer:
In the past when a couple got married COP the female was considered a minor and was not allowed to enter into any contractual agreement without her husband's consent. This law however changed many years ago.

Now a woman married COP is allowed to sign for credit without the approval of her spouse, provided that she is creditworthy.

You need to sit her down and work through this together. Find out what she was using the money for and get her to commit to stop taking out credit without your approval.

Joint decision

The same applies to you. Borrowing money should be a joint decision. If she is working and can afford to pay off the loans on her own, she must continue to do so.

However, if she is relying on you to pay the debt back, then you need to make it clear to her that she is the one that will have to make the sacrifices to pay off the loans.

So if she regularly spends money on luxuries — and you are having to repay the loan— then these purchases have to stop. Under these circumstances, it can be frustrating having to treat an adult like a child but she has been irresponsible with your family's money.

Again, if your money is being wastefully spent, there needs to be some consequences for her actions, as she will continue to financially compromise you.

What we waste money on `What do you waste money on?` Most respondents in a new poll seem to agree...

How to budget The disease? Overspending. The cure? Drawing up a budget. Kabous le Roux on how to do it...

Taxing retirement funds The tax considerations of various retirement funds before, upon and after retirement...