Newlywed Financial Checklist

Your 401(k) and IRA go to whoever is named on the beneficiary form — not whoever is named in your will. These are separate legal documents. If you got married last month and your 401(k) still says your mom, fix it this week. Log into your HR portal or plan administrator online. Takes 10 minutes.

Same logic. Marriage doesn't automatically update these. Contact each carrier directly. Set both a primary and a contingent beneficiary while you're at it.

Do this before updating other government IDs — they'll want to see the SSA card with the new name. Go in person or apply online at ssa.gov.

Fully joint. Fully separate. Or the most common approach: a joint account for shared expenses and separate accounts for personal spending. There's no objectively right answer — but you need an actual decision, not a vague "we'll figure it out" that drags on for two years.

Marriage is a qualifying life event — you have 60 days to join your spouse's plan without waiting for open enrollment. Compare the two options on cost, coverage, and which doctors are in network. Don't let the 60-day window expire without making a deliberate choice.

Someone else now depends on your income. That changes the math. Term life is surprisingly affordable in your 30s and early 40s — a $500,000 policy for a healthy 32-year-old typically costs less than a Spotify subscription per month.

Each of you writes down every bank, brokerage, and retirement account you hold — institution names and account types. Then you share those lists with each other. Simple. But if something happened to you tomorrow, would your spouse know your Fidelity account exists? Your old HSA? The credit union from your hometown you never got around to closing?

Carrier name, policy number, agent contact — for health, life, auto, and renter's or homeowner's insurance. Store in one place you can both find. This is the section that prevents life insurance from going unclaimed.

Where are the birth certificates? Social Security cards? Passports? Car titles? Don't assume your spouse knows — they probably don't, and neither do you for their documents. Find out and write it down.

At minimum: your primary email address (the one everything resets through) and your phone PIN. These two things unlock almost everything else in an emergency. Store them somewhere you both can access — not just in your own head.