Credit and Divorce
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the story about how so and so got divorced, but they didn’t “divorce” themselves from the racked up credit cards, loans and other “bad debt” that they and their spouse shared together.
So, how does it usually work when two people get divorced? Usually, if the split is amicable enough, they can work it out amongst themselves as to who is going to take on what debts after the split, but what about the damage done to credit from one spouse to another spouse’s credit?
That’s the part that gets tricky. You see, when you’re married and have joint accounts, one’s actions and lack of responsibility can affect the other person’s credit score. But isn’t it still really up to you in a marital situation to kind of keep your eyes open for any financial troubles that either one of you may create?
For example, unless your spouse is the only one who sees the credit card statements, there is no way they can go charging cards past their limits and making a big mess for the two of you to get out of. Not only that, the other spouse should see the spoils that were purchased if they live together, so usually to claim that one spouse had no idea is kind of a lame excuse, unless your spouse had a good way to keep racking up debt a secret from you.
It’s important to be open with eachother and communicate about expenditures in a marriage, and if you can’t or don’t want to do that, then you should probably maintain separate accounts. I personally have been in a relationship for over five years, and we will get married some day, but I’ve already decided that we will not share an account, because we have a system worked out now that works well for both of us, and I don’t want to jeopardize something that works already!
Plus, I must admit, I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to balancing checkbooks and making sure the bills are paid every month. I may have to work on that a little….
