Wednesday, January 28, 2009

How does Divorce Affect Credit

By Rob Kosberg

Divorce can have unexpected effects on your credit. If you are at the point of considering a divorce, you need to find out how to deal with your finances before you receive the possibly devastating injuries to your credit. Know your total debt situation. You might want to have legal advice as you go through the division of finances.

It is strongly suggested that the financial issues be worked out prior to the actual divorce date. You need to examine the credit reports for each spouse. Any errors should be fixed so that both reports are accurate. Then you can see what credit issues need to be settled.

If you are jointly responsible for a home mortgage, you may want to sell the home to a stranger. You can also sell the home to your partner. That makes the mortgage no longer a joint responsibility.

Other debts including cars, credit cards, utilities, loans also need to be only in one name. These decisions are not easy ones but are necessary.

Please know that credit cards should be only in one name. If joint credit card debt is not changed to one responsible party before the divorce, it can occur that credit card companies will go to the party not responsible (according to the decree) for payment. The unpaid debit could go to "collection" and you could start getting those embarrassing phone calls from collectors regarding the payments for the ex-spouse. Poor credit of one affects credit of the other. Take care of this before the divorce.

You want to make certain that all cash assets are divided. Then, close all joint checking and savings accounts. One spouse should not be able to get to the accounts of the other.

It would be very positive if all joint debts could be paid even if some things have to be sold. This would ensure that each partner is responsible for his/her own debts. You want to move on with your life knowing that your financial base is secure albeit smaller than before the divorce.

Your divorce decree will spell out financial arrangements and the party responsible for each debt. However, if there are still joint debts, these can make life miserable if a creditor is not receiving payment and cause problems for the spouse decreed not responsible. Be proactive about this situation. - 16732

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