There are some ways that getting a divorce might impact you even years down the road. Your credit report is one of these ways. When you get divorced, you and your ex will have to split everything that is considered marital property. This includes not only assets, but also debts. Here is where things get a bit complicated.
Part of what matters for your credit is the debt-to-income ratio you carry. When you divorce, your income is going to go down if your ex’s income is part of what you have considered as your income.
Even though you will lose income, there is a chance that you won’t lose debt. This is because your creditors don’t have to take your name off of debts even if they are assigned to your ex during the divorce. Even though the court orders your ex to pay, the creditors might still hold you accountable because those creditors aren’t a party in the divorce.
It is usually best to brace for some impact to your credit when you get divorced. If possible, you and your ex should take steps to have accounts closed and transferred to individual accounts. This might save you and your ex a lot of headache in the future since you would have to pay for your accounts and your ex would have to pay for his or her accounts.
There is a chance that this could be difficult to work out. That debt-to-income ratio is something that could hurt your chance of getting a new line of credit. This isn’t a sure thing, but you should be ready for it just in case it happens.
Overall, making sure that you have a divorce settlement that puts you on a good financial footing is one of the best things that you can do. Learn your options and make decisions based on what you know you can do.
Source: FindLaw, “Credit and Divorce,” accessed Jan. 13, 2017
