What should you know about credit and divorce?

While divorcing, one of the things you and your spouse will need to deal with is your marital estate. Your estate will need to be divided. When you do that, you should keep in mind that changing the arrangement of your accounts can have an impact on your credit.

To start with, you should know that there are two kinds of accounts, individual or joint. Joint accounts have both your name and your spouse’s name attached. You may want to close joint accounts before or following your divorce and to move your assets or debts into new, separate accounts.

There are some negatives to having to close accounts, though. For instance, if you don’t normally work, you could find that it’s harder to obtain a credit line in your name without your spouse’s signature. You could also see your credit score drop when the account is closed.

Another thing to remember is that combining financial resources can make you look like a better borrower to a lender because there is more than one person to seek payments from. When you separate, you should always close joint accounts. If you don’t and your spouse runs up a bill, then you could be on the hook.

Creditors won’t close your joint accounts just because of your divorce, but they will if you ask them to. Your creditor may also ask you to reapply based on your individual income, which could change how much credit line access you have.

If you’re concerned about your credit, you may want to talk to your attorney before deciding on how you’ll divide assets and debts with your spouse.