How Does Divorce Affect My Credit?

This is an excellent question.  Let's talk about the what can happen with your credit if you have to go through a divorce.  Divorce in an uncomfortable subject but nonetheless, people go through separation and divorce every day.  This is very common in our society.  There are many things in displacement because of the situation, and one of them is certainly your credit.

You should know that even the most amicable divorce can leave you in financial ruin. During your marriage, you probably, merged all of your finances, from your bank accounts, credit accounts, to ownership of your home.  Its most likely that one of the partners took most of the responsibility when it came to paying bills, which left the other person in the dark about what was paid and how much. When you are married and committed, this arrangement is common but when the marriage goes to divorce, these common place arrangements contribute to and become credit problems.

If you are headed for divorce, worrying about your credit score may be the last thing on your mind. However, even during the most difficult times of our lives, the world keeps spinning, life goes on and the fact is, divorce can greatly impact your finances and credit history. If you are seeking or have finalized a divorce, it is time to assess what needs to be done to preserve or restore your financial reputation.
Here is some advice you may consider before and after your separation.

When you get a divorce, it is your marriage that is ending and not your shared financial responsibilities. Even if your spouse is responsible for some or most of the debt without your knowledge during the marriage, you may be held responsible for it after the divorce.
This can be avoided if you take the proper actions and sever all financial ties with your ex spouse.  This is the norm and in most situations the ex spouse will be more than happy to cooperate due to the fact that each wants to get on with their lives.  This is true of the ex spouse, but not the creditors. That is why it absolutely necessary to cut financial ties sooner rather than later.

Remember credit accounts are reported for each individual associated with that account, so if you are listed as a joint owner, cosigner, or authorized user, you must deal with that account before the divorce. That means closing the account completely by paying it off or ensuring that one name is totally removed from the account.

Many divorcing couples are confused by the role of the divorce decree. A divorce decree may specify who is responsible for accounts opened during the marriage, but it doesn’t break the contracts with the lenders. There is still responsibility as long as your name is on the account.
If the spouse responsible under the divorce decree is unable or unwilling to pay and the contract has not been changed by the lender, the late payments still will appear on both credit reports and will have a negative impact on credit scores for both individuals.
The missed payments can occur years after the divorce and still will be reported for all individuals associated with the account. That certainly can be an unpleasant surprise.
In some cases, vindictive behavior during the divorce by one or both spouses can have a very direct, very negative impact.
Sadly, an angry spouse may try to hurt their soon-to-be former wife or husband by making large credit purchases on joint accounts with the intent of punishing the other person with huge debts or wrecking their credit history.  What they usually do not understand is that by doing so they also likely will destroy their own credit history at the same time.

There are many situations that can affect one's credit report.  Best advise would be to keep a constant vigil on your credit.  There are many ways and many programs that are available to monitor your credit.  Especially under a separation situation, it is best to be in full control of your credit.  Problems may still arise but the element of surprise will not be a factor.


"Credit is like a looking-glass, which when once sullied by a breath, may be wiped clear again; but if once cracked can never be repaired." - Sir Walter Scott

Marilu Nieto, The Home Biz Diva, is an experienced Real Estate Broker having helped countless families in the span of 24 years of service. If you would like more information regarding debt relief and debt relief services, visit my informative site at Consumer Debt Relief Info

I WAS SEARCHING FOR FINANCIAL FREEDOM AND I FOUND IT AT BestMoneyMakingOnlineSite

The Credit Repair Organization Act, How Does It Help The Consumer?

Let's talk a bit about consumer protection.  The Credit Repair Organization Act or (CROA) defines how credit repair organizations are allowed to operate.  The Credit Repair Organization Act keeps a vigilant eye on credit repair companies and hears consumer complaints against such companies.

We will use the initials CROA in this blog when we refer to the organization.  The CROA, was enacted to ensure consumers of services of credit repair organizations, or companies are provided with information necessary to make informed decisions regarding the purchase of such services. Also, and most important the CROA's duty is to protect the public from unfair or deceptive advertising and business practices by
credit repair companies and organizations.

The CROA requires the following from companies and organizations claiming to repair credit:

1. There must be a written disclosure stating that the consumer has a right to "sue" the credit  repair company if they violate the CROA.
2. The CROA contains a provision that voids any waiver by the consumer rights provided by the CROA.

It is not illegal to be a credit repair company in every state of the UnIted States except for
Georgia, where it is a misdemeanor.  It is legal in every other state to be a credit repair company
as long as it compllies with the rules of the CROA.

Here are 2 rules you should watch for:

1.   The credit repair company can not bill you in advance for services not yet performed.

2.   The credit repair company must disclose to you the consumer in writing that you can
     challenge damaging information on your credit report for free.

Know what credit repair companies can and can not do for you. Do not become a victim of a scam or a fraud.

The advertising offered by these companies sounds great, but know this, accurate information both negative and positive can not be removed from your credit report by using credit repair fraud.  Negative credit stays
on your report for upto 7 years.  Bankruptcies stay upto 10 years.

The Credit Repair Organization Act came into existance because of complaints from so many consumers
that had been victims of repair scams and fraud.

There are companies out there that in fact are honest businesses.  The consumer has to be informed
of rights before committing to any of these companies.  Knowledge is important.

I have written about the red flag signals before regarding a credit repair company, but I believe it is worth
putting the information in plain site again, so here goes:

1.  The credit repair company asks you to apply for an Employer Identification Number to use when
     applying for credit instead of your social security number. This is fraud.

2.  The credit repair company requires payment up front.  This is a violation of the CROA.

3.  The credit repair company does not inform you that whatever they can do for you, you can do
     for yourself at little or no cost.

4.  The credit repair company does not allow the client to contact the creditors on their own behalf.

The Credit Repair Organization Act is there to protect the consumer.  We as consumers also have certain
obligations.  One of them being it is our reponsibility to check who we do business with.

The most logical thing to do is consider all the options in front of us and choose wisely.

Read what the Better Business Bureau has to say about credit repair fraud and also information from
the Federal Trade Commission.

There is a difference between credit repair companies and credit relief companies.
Credit relief companies do not claim to eliminate your bad credit.  I have researched credit relief companies as stated in earlier blogs and I have found 2 that I consider to be worth considering:

Curadet

Debt Consolidation

Be informed and take control. I wish everyone the best.

"If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress" - Barack Obama

ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITH PERSONAL DEBT?: Have You Been Scammed By A Credit Repair Company?

ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITH PERSONAL DEBT?: Have You Been Scammed By A Credit Repair Company?: As promised on an earlier blog, let's talk about credit repair scamms . Of course scamms are illegal but none the less they exist. We have...

Have You Been Scammed By A Credit Repair Company?

As promised on an earlier blog, let's talk about credit repair scamms. Of course scamms are illegal but none the less they exist.

We have already established the fact that derrogatory credit can not be removed from a credit report if it is reported correctly and if not enough time has elapsed since the recording. That would be around 7 years for the majority of the derrogatory credit and 10 years for bankruptcies.

We have also established that the credit repair companies claiming to clean up bad credit within 3 months, six months, one year, etc. is advertising misleading information.

Well then why are these advertising gimmicks still employed and why is nothing done to stop them.

Every day you can find advertising trying to fool consumers that have poor credit histories. First and foremost, the public has got to be aware that the poor credit can not be cleaned up. No matter how much money is paid for the service and it does not matter what company is employed.

Here are a few warning signs offered by the Federal Trade Commission. (FTC)

• The credit repair company wants payment up front before they take your case.The credit repair company recommends that you do not contact any of the credit bureaus directly, but leave it all in their hands. 
• The credit repair company does not review with the client, the legal rights of the client.The credit repair company does not inform the client that he or she can accomplish what can be accomplished on their own for free. 
• The credit repair company advises the client to invent a new credit identity by applying for and EIN number, Employment Identification Number to use instead of a social security number.
• The credit repair company advises for the client to dispute all derrogatory credit whether reported correctly or not. 

The majority of this advise or methods to clean your credit is illegal. The client maybe committing fraud by employing these methods.

Another thing to remember is that if a person applies for a credit by telephone, mail or internet and knowingly enters false information, they may be guilty of a crime. This would be mail or wire fraud.

So you see, not only would these scammers be taking a persons money, but may potentially expose the person to an illegal action.

Take note, the following is good information to have.

• It is illegal to lie on any loan or credit application.
• It is illegal to intentionally misrepresent your social security number.
• It is illegal to obtain a EIN number from the IRS under false pretenses.

Any and everything a credit repair company can do for you, you can do for yourself at little to no cost.

The best advise to be given in this article is that if you are not sure, contact a credit counseling agency. They can give you more detailed information and you will not run the risk of paying for a service that can not be given to you by a company that can not legally give you service.

A person's credit report is one of the most important tools consumers can use to maintain their financial security and credit rating, but for so long many did not know how to obtain one, or what to do with the information it provided. -Ruben Hinojosa