Divorce and credit card debt

Protect your good credit --Your divorce does not releive you from any joint credit card debt you may have had while you wer married. You are responsible for joint accounts from any credit card s you may have along with car loans and home mortgages. Even if a divorce judge orders your ex spouse to pay a certain credit card bill, you are still legally responsible for making sure that this bill is being paid. If not your credit can be ruined.



The bank, credit card issuer, mortgage company or other credit lending buinesses that you have credit with also has the legal right to report any negative information to a credit bureau if your ex pays late on a joint account that you may have. If your ex decide that he or she does not want to pay the bill at all you will probally have to pay or action can be taken to get the debt paid off.



Until you can seperate your accounts you can not afford to miss a payment on your bills to avoid reporting to the credit bureaus. Send in at least the minimum payments due on all joint bills until they can be seperated. One missed payment can have a negative effect on your credit report at times up to 7 years. Do not try to run up the debts, play by the rules and make all payments with at least the minimum due.



If you've recently been through a divorce - or are contemplating one - you may want to look closely at issues involving credit. Understanding the different kinds of credit accounts opened during a marriage may help illuminate the potential benefits and pitfalls of each.



If you're considering divorce or separation, pay special attention to the status of all the credit accounts that you may have. If you maintain joint accounts during this time, it's important to make regular payments so your credit will not suffer from the divorce. As long as there's an outstanding balance on a joint account, you and your spouse are still responsible for this payment.



If you divorce, you may want to close joint accounts or accounts in which your former spouse was an authorized user. Or ask the creditor to convert these accounts to individual accounts.



The easiest way to find out what kind of debts you and your spouse owe is to get a credit report. Credit reports are a little like the weather. Everybody talks about them, but only three companies really do anything to produce them:



Equifax. Equifax Credit Information Services, Wildwood Plaza, Suite 500, Marietta, GA 30067. 800-685-1111.

Experian (formerly TRW). Consumer Assistance Center, P.O. Box 749029, Dallas, TX 75374. 800-392-1122.

Trans Union. 760 Sproul Road, Springfield, PA 19064. 800 916-8800.






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