When you and your spouse obtained credit together, you entered into a contract agreeing to pay your bills. When you divorce, this contract does not dissolve; each of you remains fully liable for your debts. You can employ a few tactics to make sure your credit obligations do not make your divorce more difficult, like clearly establishing your own distinct credit lines and communicating with your spouse.
There are a few other steps you can take to maintain and improve your credit after divorce.
Be prepared for a financial emergency. You will want to have your name on all bank cards and store credit card accounts, because being an authorized card user is not enough to maintain credit. When credit cards are in your name, your spouse cannot cancel them or cut you off without notice or permission. Getting a credit card with check writing privileges is also a good way to prepare for a financial emergency. This way, you have access to your accounts if they are frozen during the divorce or if you run low on cash.
If you receive child support or spousal support as part of your income, credit institutions will usually want proof of these payments. Credit might be difficult to obtain until you have been getting regular payments for significant amount of time.
Credit institutions will also want to know if you will receive payments consistently in the future. During a divorce. support will most likely be set under temporary orders. Because temporary orders are subject to change, this could cause credit institutions to claim that those payments are unreliable.
You may want to ask each company and bank that extended you credit to transfer the debt to the name of the person responsible. Keep in mind that you are still responsible if your spouse agrees to pay certain bills. The creditor could come after you if your spouse doesn’t pay the bills in question.
You will also want to keep your joint bills current, and inform all creditors that you are not responsible for debts charged by your ex-spouse on joint accounts after the divorce. Close any joint accounts you can, as and accounts you hold jointly with your spouse will impact your credit. You could be denied a loan for outstanding credit that your spouse has not paid yet.
It is important that you work with your attorney to sort through credit cards and bills to protect your credit and finances, and to ensure you didn’t overlook any joint accounts.
