You're in love and want to share everything but money rows account for agreat many divorces so find out if you and your loved one are on the sametrack, writes Laura Slattery

Couples everywhere will mark Valentine's Day tomorrow with bottles of red wine, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and the exchange of saccharine greeting cards.

It's a long journey from bickering about whether to split the restaurant bill on the first date to freezing joint bank accounts after a break-up, but along the way there is likely to be a substantial number of romance-killing half-conversations about money.

In the US and the UK, financial disagreements are the root cause of a sizeable percentage of divorces. Some suggest it is second only to infidelity in the list of reasons why couples split.

Some people like being "discreet" about financial affairs even with their partners, however, this can be read as overly secretive and symbolic of a lack of trust.

So before embarking on any relationship involving shared financial responsibilities, it is sensible to make sure you know a little about both your partner's attitudes to money and the nature of something as humble and commonplace as a joint account.

According to market research company MORI MRC, 29 per cent of main current accounts are joint accounts. Some 95 per cent of the people holding joint accounts are married or cohabiting, and over a quarter - 28 per cent - are homemakers.

When both partners settle into a what's-mine-is-yours approach to their finances, pouring their combined earnings into one pot will seem like an automatic step.

Joint accounts are a convenient way for couples to pool their resources, especially if they have children.

But accountholders will be jointly and severally liable for any debts generated on the account. This means that each person can be held responsible for repaying the full amount, not just their share of it.

Even if the couple considers themselves a single financial entity, disputes may arise if one partner has a slightly more relaxed attitude to being in the red than the other.

One person's useful source of upfront cash is another person's double-digit interest debt trap to be avoided at all times.

If one partner's lax attitude to repaying an overdraft, loan or credit card bill leads to a default, both partners' credit record will be stained. This could jeopardise the ability of each to secure loans in their own right long after those Valentine's Day gifts have been thrown out in the rubbish.

Joint accounts can be set up so that they require two signatures for every transaction.

But banks will generally only issue cheque guarantee, ATM and Laser cards on joint accounts that are "either to sign" for obvious reasons, says a spokeswoman for NIB. Without these facilities, a current account is of limited use.

It is not usually possible to set up a joint account on an "either to sign" basis for withdrawals but require joint authorisation for use of any overdraft facility.

"With ATM, cheque guarantee and Laser or Maestro facilities, either party can generate transactions which the bank is obliged to honour, even if there are no funds in the account," explains the NIB spokeswoman.

This creates an unauthorised overdraft, with interest rates varying from 16.25 to 20.65 per cent.

Official sanction letters will be sent separately to both individual parties in accordance with the Consumer Credit Act.

Sometimes resentment can arise if one half of a couple feels the other is splurging on personal spending to the detriment of overall household wealth.

If one partner is the sole breadwinner, they may feel that they have a greater say in how the money is spent, even if it is legally shared in a joint account.

One survey of married couples by a UK equality body found women on low incomes often admitted that there were times when they were not able to challenge the spending habits of husbands who were the main earner in the family, despite initially claiming that they shared in all financial decision-making.

Outside the legal protection of marriage, couples are increasingly assuming joint responsibility for debts and expenses, but without merging their financial identities into one joint account.

Growing numbers of cohabitees are rushing to get their feet on the property ladder before they even begin to think about getting rings on their fingers.

This "mortgage before marriage" phenomenon gives rise to more practical banking matters.

Couples may arrange a standing order for half of the repayment from one partner to the other, who will then make the full monthly repayment.

But if interest rates change frequently, it may be awkward to maintain a 50:50 straight split, if it is desired. Alternatively, both partners could separately transfer money into a servicing account. Again, the couple will need to assess their individual views on money and the strength of the relationship.

For example, if both partners work full-time but there is significant disparity between their incomes, do they go halves on household expenses or does each partner pay a pro rata share?

People often value financial independence, believing it to be prudent in the long run.

According to AIB, it is quite common for a person to maintain a joint account with their partner, but also keep a sole account. Special savings incentive accounts (SSIAs), for example, could only be opened as sole accounts.

But each partner should remember that even when they do keep a separate account, banks can use the money in it to offset debts incurred on joint accounts.