Thinking of your credit may be the last thing on your mind when going through a divorce and we understand why. It’s a long process that affects many facets of your life. But, that being said, it’s important to keep your credit top of mind when going through a divorce to keep your score from dropping.
Keep reading as we walk you through three divorce credit score mishaps and how to keep them from happening.
Your ex-spouse misses payments or pays late on joint accounts.
Many people going through a divorce share at least one account with their ex-spouse. Whether it’s a credit card or mortgage, late or missed payments often show on both account holders’ credit reports, regardless of a divorce decree. While it’s a common misconception, a divorce decree doesn’t override your obligation to the creditor. And if your ex-spouse isn’t as concerned with maintaining a good credit score, they might not be as motivated to make payments on time.
While we hope you are on good terms with your ex-spouse, that isn’t always the case. To avoid this divorce credit score mishap, keep an eye on all of your shared accounts and make the payments if you don’t see them being made. Credit scores are incredibly important at this stage of your life and you can always try to recover the money in the future by reporting missed payments.
You don’t have money to cover your bills.
Like we mentioned above, maintaining a good credit score is crucial at this stage of your life. With attorney fees, divorces can get expensive. If you find yourself unable to pay your bills in full and on time, we recommend increasing the amount of money you make and decreasing your expenses. A part-time job and cutting unnecessary expenses for a period of time (think Netflix, cable, etc) can help you keep from getting too far in debt or lowering your credit score.
Your ex-spouse racks up debt on your accounts.
If your split was less than amicable, your ex-spouse putting you into debt is a real possibility. This divorce credit score mishap occurs most often when an ex-spouse is an authorized user on one of your accounts. Being an authorized user means they’re not liable for any payments but can still make purchases. Just to be safe, we recommend removing your ex-spouse from any individual credit accounts as soon as possible.
If you’re going through a divorce, having a qualified divorce lending professional on your team can be a huge asset. Brent Rasmussen, President of Mortgage Specialists, is a Certified Divorce Lending Professional. His experience and education in helping clients navigate divorce loans can help make the process as simple and stress-free as possible.
Call 402-991-5153 to schedule an appointment today.
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