Divorce can have an impact on your credit score, which can affect the way you live your life. There are many different things to think about when you are trying to make sure that you protect your credit.
One especially important thing to remember is that you can’t rely on the court order to protect your credit. Because your divorce is a civil matter, it is only between you and your ex. The credit card companies aren’t a party to this agreement so they don’t have a legal obligation to comply with the terms. Instead, they can still demand payment from any party who is included on the account. So, what happens if your ex is spiteful and doesn’t pay the bill on purpose? Your credit will have negative marks on it.
Another thing to remember is that your credit might take a hit if your ex doesn’t pay the bills that he or she is supposed to. As long as the account is a joint account, a negative or positive pay history will be reflected on you. One option that you have to prevent this is to transfer account balances to individual accounts so that you are liable for the debts assigned to you and your ex is liable for the ones assigned to him or her.
As you think about how your credit changing will impact your new life, you need to take time to consider your car note, mortgage and any accounts with a variable interest rate. All of these might be negatively impacted by a change to your credit report if your ex isn’t paying.
Source: Our Family Wizard, “Is Divorce Bad For Your Credit?,” accessed April 12, 2018
