Does Divorce Impact Credit?

If you’re going through a divorce or have recently divorced, you may be feeling a sudden urgency to monitor your credit score. Your credit can be affected by divorce if you and your ex share responsibility for loans and debts that have your name on them.

Keep reading for more information about how divorce correlates to credit.

Does Divorce Lower Credit?

Technically, divorce itself does not have an impact on your credit score. Whether you are married, single, or divorced, your relationship status does not have any influence on what your credit score should look like.

How Does Divorce Affect Credit?

Although divorce itself does not directly affect your credit or credit score, changes you and your spouse make financially do. Credit bureaus don’t receive reports from a judge or court stating that you’ve gotten a divorce. However, you and your ex would need to make arrangements for how you will handle any debts connected to your credit in the future.

Getting divorced, in most cases, means that you can no longer rely on two incomes to pay down your debts, so you’re down to one. Here are some problems you can potentially face:

• You may experience trouble paying your own bills and relying on your credit card to pay them.
• You may not be able to afford extra expenses and may need to get a loan to help counteract those costs.
• Your spouse may not agree to help pay down a marital debt and you’re stuck paying it alone.
• You become responsible for your ex’s debt as part of your divorce agreement.
• You become solely responsible for you and your ex’s mortgage and you can’t afford to pay it all by yourself.
• You or your ex may have medical bills that you can no longer afford to pay on your own.
• You may have to pay for your children’s expenses without spousal support or child support and resort to credit cards.

All of these factors can have a direct effect on your overall financial standing and credit. But, you can turn to a family law attorney for help.

How Can An Attorney Help?

Your family law attorney can help you negotiate things like spousal support, child support, equitable distribution through property division, negotiate dividing debts, and more. Our attorneys at Bush & Taylor, P.C. have the experience and knowledge necessary to get your case started and work towards getting you the financial relief you need.

Reach our office today at (757) 926-0078 to schedule an appointment for a consultation.