While love conquers all in romance novels and movies, when money problems rear their ugly heads in marriage, Cupid doesn't always stand a fighting chance.

Newlywed couples who underestimate the strain that bad money habits can cause on a marriage may make themselves more vulnerable to failure.

"If money matters are not discussed in a marriage, they will take over the marriage at some point," said Gilda Carle, a relationship expert based in New York and author of "99 Prescriptions for Infidelity."

With the peak wedding season fast approaching, future husbands and wives can get so caught up in the excitement of planning their big day that it's easy to forget that walking down the aisle to join their two hearts as one also means combining their incomes, assets and debts.

Civil court records show as of yesterday 1,335 marriage licenses have been issued so far this year in Allegheny County.

"Couples should be aware going into marriage that financial stress is often cited as the leading cause of divorce; so they should approach this potentially volatile area of their new lives with great respect," said Ben Woolsey, director of marketing and research for CreditCards.com in Austin, Texas.

"It is vital to come clean about each other's finances, especially credit card debt," he said.

If one partner brings debt into the marriage, it becomes a problem for both, especially if one has a poor credit history or is saddled with bankruptcy.

Purchases they once made without having to consult anyone else may come under scrutiny by a new spouse. Whether bank accounts stay separate or get combined also could be a source of conflict.

"A lot of people are not merging assets anymore because the divorce rate is so high," said Tony Thomas, president of Thomas Financial in Robinson. "People are really taking a lot of precautions.

"Marriage is getting to be like a contract or a business arrangement, especially if there's family money involved. Parents will put pressure on children to get the paperwork in place before the wedding."

Being romantically or spiritually compatible does not mean two people who love each other enough to get married will have the same spending patterns or share the same financial goals.

"You'll never have two people with the same views on finances," Dr. Carle said. "Savers marry spenders. Opposites attract. But eventually distract."

Paul Brahim, managing partner at BPU Investment Management, Downtown, said couples without common financial goals tend to face frustration and stress.

"My advice to people is to live off one income, save the other income and have goals. Life is going to come at you whether you want to believe it or not," he said. "You don't know when children will come along or one of you will lose a job.

"You'll buy a house, raise kids, send them to college and then you'll be old enough to retire. The stress comes when all that happens and you are not financially prepared."

There's nothing wrong with letting one person take over the family finances as long as both partners agree.

If they choose to combine finances after the wedding, couples should make sure bank accounts and major purchases are in both names.

This will help both maintain their credit ratings and give both partners equal access and rights in the event of a divorce.

While couples should work together to pay off any debt brought into the marriage, they should never officially commingle their debt.

It could hurt the credit score of the partner with better credit and make it difficult for one or both to get credit in the future. Existing credit card accounts should be kept in the original holder's name.

"There's a couple of things couples can do to make it less stressful," said Bill Schultheis, author of the "Coffeehouse Investor."

"Have as much transparency as you can so there are no surprises.

"Even though transparency is one of the most important things a couple can embrace, each needs [his or her] own money [he or she] can spend without criticism from the other spouse. And keep track of what you spend your money on."

After the wedding gifts have been unwrapped and the honeymoon ends, one of the most meaningful expressions of love that partners can give each other is financial security and protection from the storms of life.

Rick Staszak, a financial adviser at Financial Network Investment Corp., an ING company in Green Tree, said the deepening recession is eroding the financial fabric of the American family. The loss of a job causes a divorce within a year 40 percent of the time, he said.

"The way the economy is, younger people have to be cautious of how they spend before the wedding and after," Mr. Staszak said. "There are so many unknowns, like the possibility of relocating or losing a job.

"If two people have two totally different ideas on finances, it could create major problems down the road in their marriage."