How Do I Protect My Credit Score During a Divorce?
It can be tough to think about the future when you’re going through a divorce, but it’s necessary. Even if the divorce seems like it’s consuming all of your time and energy, you need to think about what comes after. Part of that means knowing how to protect your credit score and ensuring that you start your post-divorce life on sound financial footing. Our Morristown divorce attorneys can help you figure out how to do that.
What Can I Do to Protect My Credit Score?
Getting a divorce can affect your credit score in a few ways. Untangling your financial life with another person can cause complications, but there are steps that you can take to reduce how much damage can be done. We recommend:
- Continuing to make all payments on time
- Closing any joint accounts
- Notifying creditors about your divorce
- Removing your spouse as an authorized user on any accounts
- Freezing your credit at the three major credit bureaus
When you freeze your credit at Transunion, Experian, and Equifax, that prevents anyone from making most types of financial moves that could affect your score. Taking out loans or applying for new credit cards should not be possible with a freeze in place.
Should I Monitor My Credit Score?
You can also sign up for services that monitor your credit score. Many credit cards and bank accounts offer an option for at least a few credit monitoring services. You can also check your own credit report for any odd activity or errors. Keeping an eye on these things can help you address small problems before they become major issues that can affect your credit score.
Can a Divorce Agreement Stick Me With Debt?
It’s possible. You need to make sure that you completely understand your divorce decree and that you aren’t being held responsible for any debt that should be your spouse’s sole responsibility.
We should note that figuring out who should hold responsibility for a debt is actually a bit more complicated than you might think. You may try to say that you should not be responsible for a spouse’s debt, but if they ran up that debt then it’s just like an asset acquired during marriage. It belongs to both of you.
If the debt was your spouse’s before you got married, like it was their student loans, then you shouldn’t be responsible for that. You may also be able to argue that a debt accrued during the marriage should not be your shared responsibility. A good example of this would be if the debt was from gambling or money spent on an affair partner.
Contact Our Law Firm
If you want to learn more about how our attorneys can help you with your divorce, contact Lazor Rantas, PC. We can schedule a consultation and tell you more about what our experienced lawyers can do to be of assistance.
