Do I Need to Bear Credit Card Debt When I Divorce?

When you have divorced your spouse, do not think that everything can be separated easily. If you still have credit card accounts under joint names after the divorce, you must make sure that all the debts have been fully paid. If this is not the case, missing a payment will generally hurt the credit scores of both of you equally. Even if your ex-spouse is ordered to take the responsibility for the debt, if he or she misses the payment due to financial hardship, the creditors have the right to chase you to pay. You must accept the fact that all joint credit cards will continue to be joint responsibilities for both parties until the debts are fully paid off or until the debts are settled.

Furthermore, even if you call up your creditors to inform them verbally that your ex-spouse has made the promise to pay off the debts, the creditors are not necessarily obligated to exclude you from the debts officially. Hence, you are reminded that if your divorce is in progress, you or your spouse must continue making the minimum monthly payment until the debts are divided clearly. If both of you don’t do that, you will be receiving non stop reminder letters and phone calls asking you for payments. Again, the credit reports of both parties will be affected too. Last but not the least; when you put a “full stop” to your marriage, it doesn’t mean that your financial responsibilities are ended too. In order to have a peaceful mind, you are advised to stop using the joint credit cards, clear all the outstanding balances and close the accounts immediately.