Joint account vs. keeping separate?

[Fehourempard]

My husband and I just got back from our honeymoon and are trying to figure out our banking situation. We both have accounts at different regional banks. He wants to merge everything into one joint checking account to simplify paying the mortgage, but I'm hesitant. I like my current bank's app, and frankly, I like having a little autonomy over my spending money. Has anyone successfully managed a "yours, mine, and ours" setup? How hard is it to transfer money between different banks instantly?

 

[Zucososh]

Merging everything is just easier for transparency. When we got married, we closed my old credit union account and I was added to my wife's account. It felt like a hassle at first changing all the direct deposits, but now we can see exactly where every dollar goes without having to reconcile three different statements at the end of the month.

 

[Youst19]

I went through a bank merger a few years ago, which complicated things for us. My bank was acquired by another one, and suddenly my account numbers changed, and my debit card stopped working at my usual ATMs. It was a chaotic few weeks trying to get new checks issued and updating our auto-pay bills. I remember needing to verify a specific routing number change for our mortgage transfer. I had to look up the SunTrust customer service number to confirm the new wire instructions. Once we got the correct details, the transfer went through, but it definitely taught me to pay close attention to those "terms of service update" emails.