Ask Amy: Married couple conquers by dividing

Dear Amy: We are “Pat” and “Leslie.”

We were both retired when we married two years ago, and we signed a prenuptial agreement that keeps our finances separate.

We each own a house outright and we spend half our time in each.

We agreed to share daily expenses and set up an account, which we equally fund and from which either of us can draw for those expenses.

We both have our own trust which controls our assets.

Our assets, though, are considerably different, though our incomes while working were roughly the same.

Part of Pat’s assets come from a sizable inheritance and Pat believes that those funds are family money and must be passed down the generations.

Leslie believes that this is wise family planning. Leslie has invested a significant amount in the education of the offspring. Pat agrees that this, also, is wise family planning.

We were discussing travel and a proposal was put forth that the expenses for travel should be divided proportional to assets.

A similar proposal was put forth for medical expenses, as one of us has significantly higher medical expenses.

We look to your sage advice as to whether these are good and fair proposals.