Financial Infidelity: 'Til Debt Do Us Part

July 9, 2006 — -- For as long as women have been wearing white bridal gowns, couples have been telling little white lies about money.

From leaving purchases in the trunk until the coast is clear to pretending that new outfit isn't really new, these little deceptions are something most people do, according to a nationwide survey conducted for Money magazine by Mathew Greenwald and Associates.

The survey asked 1,001 adults with household incomes of $50,000 or more about their money deceptions. Seventy-one percent of those polled owned up to one kind of money secret or another.

The investment management company OppenheimerFunds came up with similar results in its recently released 2005 Women & Investing Survey. The company found that for both men (24 percent) and women (26 percent), cash was the number one item that they are most likely to hide from their spouse.

Usually, such omissions of truth are harmless, but they can lead to serious consequences. Cindy Silva, of Johnstown, R.I., alleges her husband racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, forcing her to refinance her home and get a divorce.

"It made me feel stupid that I didn't know it was going on," Silva said. "It made me feel afraid because I now felt attached to that debt, and I don't live my life like that."

Her ex-husband says that's a lie -- and if anything he was just trying to keep up with her extravagant lifestyle.

ABC's financial contributor Mellody Hobson explains there's a fact about money that not all couples realize.

"If you are married and you have joint accounts with your spouse, and your spouse racks up a whole lot of debt and doesn't pay it back, you are absolutely on the hook as well," Hobson said. "There is no saying, 'It wasn't me.' The creditors aren't going to listen."

As more people get married later in life, they often come into relationships with more debt. But financial advisors say there are things couples can do: