Great questions, and somewhat related to my recent topic about "souls vs sparks." I would really love a new DJ or Q&A on character creation, to answer many of these questions. We have a lot of high-level information, but I think many folks would like to hear some more specific answers for specific scenarios (such as yours).
That said, my assumption is that your partner could consider starting as a ward of the state, which will give more freedom in the chargen steps after soul selection, at least.
Link: Character Creation wiki page, which gives our current understanding of the process.