Your credit report and score might suffer due to divorce

 
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Your credit report and score might suffer due to divorce
Written By: Josh Lowell ~ 6/7/2018

Going through a divorce means that you will have to stand on your own financially. One thing that you must do is establish your own credit and build it up. Unfortunately, a divorce doesn't always make this easy. In fact, it can be very difficult to keep your credit report clean and your score in a good range after a divorce.

When you divorce, you and your ex will have to divide up the property that you have acquired during the marriage. You will also have to split the debts. This is where the issue comes into the picture. If your ex doesn't pay his or her share of the debts, it can come back to haunt your credit history.

The terms of a divorce are a civil matter. This means that you and your ex are the ones who are supposed to abide by the terms. Because the creditors aren't parties included in the divorce, they don't have to follow the terms. They can refuse to take your name off of an account your ex is supposed to pay. They can do the same for your ex's name.

One way that you might be able to protect your credit is to sell off some of the marital assets and pay off the debts before the divorce is finalized. You might also be able to have your ex transfer the accounts he or she will pay into accounts that are open in only his or her own name. You would put the debts you will pay into an account in only your name.

Even though this might not seem like a priority, it should be. There will come a day when you need to buy a car, purchase a home or get a loan. Your credit score and history might impact that.

Source: FindLaw, "Credit and Divorce," accessed June 08, 2018


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