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Glossary: family relationships

Roles, communication, and making decisions together as a family.

35 terms

  • household spending money

    A routine budget for daily household needs such as food, transport, and cleaning.

  • pocket money

    Small amounts of money given regularly to a child for their personal needs.

  • expense tracker

    A person or record that logs all household expenses so they stay under control.

  • family cash

    A pool of shared funds used for everyday household needs.

  • account separation

    An agreement between partners to keep some funds in their own accounts, not only in joint ones.

  • family finance manager

    The family member responsible for managing cash flow, bills, and household financial records.

  • breadwinner

    The family member whose income is the main source of household living costs.

  • maintenance

    The obligation to provide for family members' living needs, generally governed by family law.

  • prenuptial agreement

    A written agreement made before or at the time of marriage that sets out the separation of assets and debts.

  • separation of assets

    An arrangement in which the husband's and wife's assets and debts remain separate during the marriage.

  • joint debt

    A loan taken by agreement between partners that becomes a household responsibility.

  • personal debt

    A loan taken by one family member in their own name, outside a joint agreement.

  • joint agreement

    A financial decision made after discussion and approved by all parties involved.

  • family money meeting

    A regular family meeting to discuss budgets, bills, and spending plans.

  • child education fund

    Money set aside specifically for a child's school costs, from primary through higher education.

  • elderly parent care costs

    Expenses for caring for elderly parents, including medicine, caregivers, and housing.

  • parental allowance

    A sum of money given regularly by a child for their parents' living needs.

  • shared caregiving

    Dividing tasks and costs among family members to care for a sick parent.

  • guardian

    A person given the authority to manage a child and their assets, for example when parents are unable to do so.

  • trustee guardian

    A person appointed by parents to care for a child if the parents die or become unable to do so.

  • child custody

    The authority to care for and support a child, usually decided by a court when parents separate.

  • child support

    A former partner's obligation to cover a child's living costs after divorce.

  • blended family

    A family formed through remarriage, including biological and stepchildren.

  • stepchild

    A child from a previous marriage who joins a new family without a blood tie to the stepparent.

  • adopted child

    A child adopted legally or by custom and treated as a biological child.

  • foster parent

    A person who takes on the caregiving and living costs of a child without legally adopting them.

  • monthly money

    A fixed monthly contribution from family members to a shared fund or shared needs.

  • chipping in

    Splitting the cost of something equally or as agreed among family members.

  • joint liability

    A situation in which several people bear the same debt or obligation together.

  • guarantor

    A person who bears repayment of another family member's debt if the borrower fails to pay.

  • financial power of attorney

    A document that authorizes a family member to manage accounts or transactions.

  • inheritance

    Assets left by a person and distributed to heirs according to law or a will.

  • profit sharing

    Distribution of family business profit according to the capital share or an agreement made together.

  • family business capital

    Funds pooled by family members to start or run a shared business.

  • consumer credit

    A loan for household consumption needs, not for business or productive assets.

Other categories

Family finances 41Education 41Inheritance & documents 42Insurance & risk 40Property & mortgages 31

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