Why aren't my spouse's accounts displayed on my credit
report?
The
credit reporting agencies maintain individual credit files for
each U.S. resident. They do not maintain combined files for spouses.
Therefore, your personal credit report is separate and different
from your spouse's. Joint credit accounts you have with your spouse
will appear on both credit reports.
Community Empower allows you to request a combined joint pull
of you and your co-applicant’s credit analysis. The system will
separately pull each credit file, and create a separate analysis
for each.
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If
my spouse had bad credit before we were married, will that affect my credit
score?
If
you hold a joint credit account, have co-signed a loan or have authorized use
of another person's credit, these items could affect a score if they appear on
your credit report. It's important that joint account holders or authorized
users understand that their credit behavior does affect the other joint account
holder or main account holder.
A
credit account held solely in the name of your spouse, child or any other
family member cannot impact your credit score. However, in community property
states, all debt acquired during a marriage is considered a joint debt,
regardless if the account is joint or in the name of an individual spouse.
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Does
co-signing for a loan affect a credit score?
Absolutely.
By cosigning, you are accepting full responsibility for the debt if the other
person does not pay as agreed. A cosigned account will appear on both your
credit history and the other person's. All loans and credit card accounts that
appear on your credit report will impact credit scores.
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How
does divorce affect a person's credit?
When
you obtained credit, you and your spouse signed a contract agreeing to pay your
bills. A divorce decree doesn't change that contract. When you divorce, each of
you remains fully liable for your debts. There are several ways you can prevent
credit obligations from making divorce more difficult - and reestablish your
own distinct credit lines after divorce occurs. You may wish to consider the
following:
-
Communicate with your ex-spouse. Make as clean a financial cut as
possible.
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Communicate with your creditors. Decide which credit belongs to
whom, then ask each company and bank that extended you credit
to transfer the debt to the name of the person who will be responsible.
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During divorce negotiations, keep your joint bills current, even
if you ultimately will have no responsibility for the debt.
If you don't, your creditors could become more reluctant to
release one party from joint liability.
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Ask the credit grantor to remove your spouse's name as an authorized
user or close the joint account to additional charges.
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If your spouse runs up large amounts of debt, you should cancel
as many of the accounts as possible. Inform all creditors, in
writing, that you are not responsible for these debts. This
may not prevent them from trying to collect, but it does show
that you attempted to act responsibly.
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Upon your divorce settlement, you and your ex-spouse might consider
obtaining individual consolidation loans to cover your share
of the joint bills. Pay off the joint bills with your individual
loans and close all joint accounts. This helps ensure you'll
be responsible only for those bills you agreed to pay. It also
will help you establish or reestablish credit in your own name.
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I
have a credit card account that was fraudulently used by a relative/friend.
What should I do?
Contact
the credit card companies as soon as possible and truthfully explain what has
taken place. Ask what their policies are for unauthorized purchases, and work
with their customer service department to reach a solution.
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