One question that may haunt divorcees is how their divorce may affect their credit.

Shared Credit

Shared credit refers to financial accounts that are held in both your name and your former partner's name. This may be credit cards, auto payments, bank accounts or even a mortgage.

During the divorce proceedings the judge may split the payments and assign each person specific bills to pay. If one or the other partner doesn't pay their portion of the bill it can reflect negatively on the other's credit score, even though they are divorced.

Remove Your Ex From Joint Accounts

Contact all holders of any joint accounts you have, including bank accounts, loans, and even utility bills, and have your ex removed from the account. If you have co-signed with them on anything, have your name or theirs removed from the bill and let the institution know that your ex is now in charge of the account. You should also contact any place that they are an authorized user and have them taken off of your account.

Taking Control Of Your Financial Situation

You and your ex can be held accountable for any and all debts accrued during the marriage, especially if all of your accounts were linked. A judge may need to interfere to make sure that each party is fairly paying their portion of the bills after the divorce.

The next big step to do is to rebuild your own credit scores under your name. At this point, decide where you are financially. You will need to assess your current money standings. You will need to see if you must cut back on spending money so that you can afford to pay your bills.

Rebuild Your Credit Score If Necessary

If your credit score is damaged, you may need to work on bringing it up. For some people this can be as simple as paying off a few bills. If you find that your credit situation is dire, consider getting a credit card that reports to the credit bureau monthly. Always pay this card off on time, showing that you are responsible and therefore building your score up once again.

Divorce is hard, but there is no reason to live with bad credit for the rest of your life. Separate charges, accounts and other bills and make sure that the judge assigns responsibility for each account. Pay down the bills that you can and consider a low interest rate card to use to build your score back up. Don't let divorce ruin your credit score, take control of your life today. 

Contact a lawyer from a company like Nelson, McPherson Summers & Santos LC for additional advice on separating accounts after a divorce.

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