How to Protect Your Credit Score During a Divorce in New York
Divorce can be challenging enough with all the matters that have to be dealt with, but you also must consider the ramifications of divorce on your credit score. A New York divorce is stressful enough, but you also must come up with a game plan to tackle the division of debts and joint credit cards and credit obligations. It is important to remember that as you are separating lives; having a healthy credit score will be necessary to start over on your own.
Joint Accounts Can Have an Impact on Your Credit Score
It's not the actual marital status (getting divorced) that impacts your credit score but rather it's the joint accounts that you may have with your soon-to-be ex-spouse. As couples are going through the divorce process it's easy to overlook a monthly payment.
Late payments can have a negative impact on your credit score, and you might be dinged by a couple of points. A couple of points may not sound like a lot; however, it can be the difference between having good credit or fair credit.
Understand the Impact of Closing Joint Credit Cards
Another factor to consider is closing joint credit cards. When you close a credit card it can impact your credit utilization ratio. What this means is that your total amount of available credit decreases when you close a particular account.
Another factor to consider is that your ex-spouse may remove you as an authorized user from their credit card. The negative impact this can have is that your credit usage may be impacted and your credit score may drop as a result of not being able to use your spouse's credit card.
Some Important Considerations to Protect Yourself During a Divorce
Be Proactive and Consider Freezing Your Credit Report
Freeze your credit reports during a divorce just in case your ex-spouse wants to open accounts in your name or is attempting to open up additional joint accounts prior to the divorce.
Have Those Essential Conversations About Existing Debt with Your Spouse
If you can work with your spouse to divide up any existing accounts that you have together, it would be worth it to sit down and have a conversation about how you are going to divide those accounts up and when the best time is to handle that.
It's also important to discuss who's going to pay for the remaining debts on credit cards or how the payments will be split up.
If you cannot come to a resolution on sorting out who will pay for which debts seek the assistance of a New York divorce mediation lawyer who can help you come to an amicable resolution. Call Sabra Law Group to schedule a call at (646) 472-7971.
Invest in Monthly Credit Monitoring
It's also a good idea to sign up for a monthly credit monitoring plan so you can monitor your credit report that's why you will get notified if your credit score increases or decreases you will also be able to monitor any inaccuracies and report them so that they do not negatively impact your overall credit score.
Need Assistance in Sorting Through Important Divorce Matters in New York?
Contact Sabra Law Group at (646) 472-7971 to speak to a New York divorce mediation lawyer. Our firm can help you sort through the challenging issues of divorce so you can focus on what matters the most.
