The potential impacts that a divorce case can have on your credit will depend on a number of different factors, including the nature of your marital property, shared lines of credit, etc.
While we cannot specifically answer how your divorce will affect your credit without reviewing the details of your situation, we can share some tips on how to protect your credit in and after divorce. And here they are…
4 Effective Ways to Protect Your Credit before, during & after Divorce
- Close your joint lines of credit ASAP – As soon as you know a divorce is happening, closing all of your joint lines of credit can prevent your ex from running up more debt, which could damage your credit. Another benefit of taking this step is that it can ensure your ex doesn’t use up a lot (or potentially all) of your financial resources (by maxing out your lines of credit) to try to prevent you from being able to retain an attorney.
- Open up individual accounts for yourself – With individual accounts, you can maintain complete control over your funds and expenditures while starting to develop a recent credit history in your individual name.
- Figure out (& stick to) your new budget – In all likelihood, as you prepare for and go through divorce, you will be transitioning from a two income home to a single income – or you will receive some temporary support payments that are a fraction of what the former household income was in the marriage. With a reduced income, figuring out your new budget restrictions can be pivotal to managing your spending, avoiding (or limiting) your debt, and protecting your credit through the process.
- Regularly check your credit report – During and after divorce, checking your credit regularly can be central to protecting it, as these checks can reveal if or when a bitter ex may have run up debt in your name, defaulted on paying joint debt payments, or defaulted on paying debts (s)he was ordered to in the divorce decree or settlement. Given that any of those situations could impact your credit, the sooner you catch them (by spotting questionable notations on your credit report), the sooner you address and resolve them so that they have minimal (if any) negative impacts on your credit.
Contact a Beaverton Divorce Attorney at Helzer & Cromar, LLP
When you need superior representation in an Oregon divorce, contact a Beaverton divorce attorney at Helzer & Cromar, LLP. Known for putting our clients’ needs first, our lawyers are focused on bringing various types of family legal issues to favorable resolutions.
To find out more about our services and how we can help you, call us at (503) 626-2889 or send us an email via the contact form on this page. The attorneys at Helzer & Cromar provide the highest quality legal services to clients in Portland and Beaverton, as well as throughout the state of Oregon.