The Offices of Keane Law, LLC
  • Home
  • About
  • Practice Areas
    • Child Custody
      • Allocation Of Parental Responsibilities
      • Child Relocation And Parental Move-Aways
      • Custody Evaluations Child And Family Investigators (CFIs): What You Should Know
      • Grandparents Rights
      • Guardianship
      • Interstate Child Custody And Support Issues / Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act
      • Modification And Enforcement Of Orders
      • Paternity
    • Child Support
    • Mediation ADR
    • Domestic Violence
      • Civil Protection Orders
      • Stalking And Domestic Violence
    • Marital Property Division
      • Complex Asset Division
      • Prenuptial And Postnuptial Agreements
      • Tax & Title Issues In Divorce
    • Spousal Support
    • Collaborative Law
    • Divorce Dissolution
      • Annulments And Declarations Of Invalidity
      • Colorado Divorce Process
      • Common-Law Marriage
      • Legal Separation
      • No-Fault Divorce
    • Nontraditional Families
      • Dissolution Agreements
      • Domestic Partnerships
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Contact
Select Page

Can divorce kill my credit score if we have credit card bills?

On behalf of The Offices of Keane Law, LLC | Nov 21, 2014 | Divorce

When you are married and have credit cards, you probably don’t think twice about will happen to those accounts if you get a divorce. Sadly, getting a divorce when you and your ex owe credit card debt is something that can ruin your credit. Our Colorado readers might be interested in learning a little about how a divorce can destroy your credit.

Is credit card debt divided during divorce?

Yes, marital debt is covered in the divorce settlement. While that lets you and your ex know who should pay what, it actually doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility to pay the debts. When you open a credit account, you agree to pay the amount of credit you use plus fees and interest. Since a divorce decree is a civil agreement between you and your ex, the credit card companies and other creditors don’t have to abide by the settlement. That means they can come after you if your ex doesn’t pay for the bill.

What can I do to protect myself?

One way to protect yourself is to divide the debts between you and your spouse. Once those debts are divided, each of you can transfer the balance to an individual account. That would essentially leave you with no joint debt since the joint accounts would be paid off. This plan is contingent upon the creditors being willing to open individual accounts for you and your ex. If you do this, make sure that all joint accounts are closed so you ex can’t make new charges on those. If you have considerable debt and haven’t filed for divorce, consider filing for bankruptcy together so neither you nor your ex will have to pay the joint debt.

Figuring out who has to pay what credit cards can be difficult. For that reason, you should learn how the law can help you protect yourself from financial ruin as you go through the divorce.

Source: CreditCards.com, “Dividing credit card debt in divorce” Amy Buttell, Nov. 19, 2014

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Recent Posts

  • Understand how a civil union differs from a marriage
  • Three ways to protect your assets in high-net worth divorce
  • Think about the issues you face during a divorce
  • How should we handle the marital home during a divorce?

Archives

  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013

RSS Feed

Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed

FindLaw Network

Our Contact

Information

The Offices of Keane Law, LLC

5350 Manhattan Circle
Suite 201
Boulder, CO 80303

Phone: 303-449-9960

Boulder Office Location Map

5350 Manhattan Circle  Boulder, CO 80303

Comprehensive

Family Law Services

The Experienced Representation You Deserve

© 2021 The Offices of Keane Law, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Business Development Solutions by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters