Before You Sign the Tax Return

Every year on April 15, my husband would race into the house at
 9:00 pm with the tax return he’d just picked up from his accountant.  "Sign here Honey,” he’d say, handing me a pen, and pointing to the pages with the little yellow tabs waiting for my signature.


However, “Sign here Honey” can come back to haunt you if you are ever divorced or widowed. Your husband isn’t necessarily trying to hide things from you by preparing the return.  He does it because you don’t. So ask him to explain what the numbers mean. He might be relieved that you’re finally taking an interest in the marital finances. Don't wait until the last minute to do it either.

If an accountant is doing your taxes, attend the meeting with your husband. This is a great place to ask questions because the accountant can explain things to you that often your husband doesn’t fully understand.


I know a woman who managed huge budgets for a large corporation. At home, she assumed the role of traditional wife, letting her husband manage their finances.


During her divorce proceedings a few years ago, she was asked if she saw the tax returns annually. She did. Did she review them? No, frankly, she trusted her husband. Wasn’t she concerned about what she was signing? No. Three years after their divorce was final, she was still wrangling with the IRS about her ex-husband’s underreported income.


“Sign here Honey” takes on a totally different meaning if you’re participating as a financially intimate partner.

Trust, Husbands and Financial Advisors

A woman called into a talk show where the topic was marital fidelity.Saying she was done with men, the caller ended her commentary by asking "If you can't trust the person who takes a marriage vow with you, whom can you trust?"

I thought about her question as it applies to two professions dealing with money- financial advice and accounting. No financial advisor takes a vow before taking us on as a client. We can't check a track record because the names of clients are confidential. We have no way of knowing how well the advisor does in an economic downturn.

Bottom line, we're working on trust - giving our money to a firm or individual whose caveat is that past performance is no indication of future results and counsels us on the risks of investment. The certificates on the office wall testify to completion of a course of study, not a grade for performance.

The same holds true for the accounting profession. Most accountants are good at what they do. But they depend on accurate input from us to help us with our tax return. The accountant signs the return based on trust that we've provided all the information we're required to provide. If we're filing a joint tax return and most of the financial information is handled by our husband because we don't "do taxes", we have to trust he has provided accurate information.

Trust is involved in a transaction with someone when we do not have full knowledge about them, their intent, and the things they are offering us. However, when it comes to marriage, which requires no study, no training and nothing but a vow, trust is used interchangeably with love. Unfortunately, love is not a course of study and no one gets a diploma in the subject.

Financial Intimacy and Income Tax

There are no excuses after April 15.

My friend Betty has been divorced for three years. Her ex-husband is being audited by the IRS for tax returns dating back to when they were married. He always handled the taxes, and she just signed what he put in front of her. The government assumed that Betty, as an adult, understood what she signed and that the information is accurate.

When the letter arrived from the IRS informing her that she was liable for $54,000 of unpaid taxes, which they claim her ex-husband had failed to report, Betty was stunned. She is just getting back on her feet after a tough few years of trying to make it on her own. Learning about how to handle money after divorce hasn’t been easy for her. She had just let her husband do everything. She trusted him. Maybe they didn’t have the best marriage, but she had never doubted his honesty. Why would he under report income? Wouldn’t the accountant have known that?

Typically, your husband isn’t going to intentionally falsify information on the tax return. On the other hand, he might be doing exactly that. As soon as you sign, you’re agreeing to the accuracy of the information and the government assumes you understand what you signed. Accountants aren’t magicians or detectives; they work with the numbers you give them.

Betty is learning some facts of life the hard way. Accountants only know what you tell them. Signing documents without understanding them obligates you anyway. Divorce doesn’t protect you from financial activities your husband engaged in while you were married.

The point is you have to be involved in your marital finances. If your husband is doing it financially, you’re doing it too, whether you know about it or not. Before you sign the tax return, read it, ask questions, understand what’s in each column and don’t wait until the last minute. If you sign it, it’s a done deal.

As I said at the beginning, there are no excuses after April 15.