While couples preparing for marriage have many things on their minds, form planning their wedding dinner, buying dresses, and planning to make a home together, financial planning is an important aspect of the process.

This is especially true since many marriages eventually end in divorce. For those whose marriage does eventually fall apart, many headaches can be avoided by doing following some simple planning strategies prior to making one's vows.

First and foremost is to communicate with your future spouse about all aspects of your finances. Both parties should be aware of each other's spending habits, debt load and other liabilities, and future plans touching on finances.

Some couples may be wise to consider coming up with a prenuptial agreement, particularly those who are marrying at an older age or who already own significant assets. A prenuptial agreement will determine what property is to be counted as marital property, what is to be considered separate, and how marital property is to be divided in the event of a separation.

Another suggestion for those who are soon to be married is to plan on maintaining a certain degree of financial independence. This includes maintaining a separate bank account and establishing credit in your owning name. Doing so will allow you to better deal with a separation and its sometimes ugly financial consequences. Another facet to this piece of advice is to ensure that you will have access to all marital money, and ensure that you know where your money is and how it is being spent or invested.

A final financial issue should be determining how you will file your tax returns once you are married. Filing taxes jointly with one's spouse opens one up to potential liability for ensuring the information is correct. This is particularly a concern where one spouse owns a business or professional practice and the profits and losses are reported on a personal tax return.

Communicating about finances prior to marriage and making smart decisions about money is a key element of having a successful marriage. Sometimes doing the financial planning can make things more serious than some want to be prior to their marriage, but doing so will pay off in the end, whether a couple stays together or not.

Source: Forbes, "June Brides, Are You Ready for Divorce?," Jeff Landers, 7 June 2011.