27F and 34M can’t decide on how to split finances when the baby comes

So my bfs brother and his wife are having a disagreement. We’ve given them our views, but thought it would be a good idea to get some objective opinions from reddit.

The wife is having a baby in a month, and they have been talking about how they will handle finances while she’s on maternity leave (6 months at half pay) and raising the kid as a stay at home mum for the first 18 months.

For context, both are on six figure salaries.

His View: He will provide her a allowance of $350 per week on top of her maternity leave pay. This would provide her additional fun money. She will also contribute $150 a week to the “house account” which they will use to make household purchases, such as groceries, bills,baby’s basic necessaries and medical bills etc. he will pay the rent separately.

Her view: An allowance feels controlling and demeaning. She wants to have joint accounts now that they’re having a baby. She is also concerned that she won’t have enough money to cover expenses once the 6 months of maternity leave at half pay runs out.

Reddit, what’s fair?

TL;DR: My bfs brother wants to give his wife a spending money allowance while she’s on maternity leave. She thinks they should have joint accounts once the baby comes. What’s the best way to do this?

Submitted April 19, 2019 at 07:01AM

So my bfs brother and his wife are having a disagreement. We’ve given them our views, but thought it would be a good idea to get some objective opinions from reddit.The wife is having a baby in a month, and they have been talking about how they will handle finances while she’s on maternity leave (6 months at half pay) and raising the kid as a stay at home mum for the first 18 months.For context, both are on six figure salaries.His View: He will provide her a allowance of $350 per week on top of her maternity leave pay. This would provide her additional fun money. She will also contribute $150 a week to the “house account” which they will use to make household purchases, such as groceries, bills,baby’s basic necessaries and medical bills etc. he will pay the rent separately.Her view: An allowance feels controlling and demeaning. She wants to have joint accounts now that they’re having a baby. She is also concerned that she won’t have enough money to cover expenses once the 6 months of maternity leave at half pay runs out.Reddit, what’s fair?TL;DR: My bfs brother wants to give his wife a spending money allowance while she’s on maternity leave. She thinks they should have joint accounts once the baby comes. What’s the best way to do this?