Those of you thinking about doing your own divorce read Complications with joint credit card debt after divorce:
From earlier this year reports of divorces postponed centered around the debt issue. Dividing debts occurs more often in my cases than custody disputes, maybe even more often issues about dividing property."The best way to avoid future debt issues is to make sure there is no joint debt remaining at the end of your marriage. So while you are still married you should establish credit in your individual name. You also need to determine any and all outstanding individual and marital debt. One way to do this is by requesting a credit report from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies (Transunion, Equifax and Experian). Detailed in these reports will be a listing of your various accounts, the date each was opened, the credit limit or loan amount, and the account balance and payment history.You can request this information for free online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by phone at 1-877-322-8228 from each of these agencies once every 12 months.
If you are doing this yourself, then make sure you get the debts divided before the divorce is final.
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1 comment:
That's really helpful information. Too often, people get caught up fighting with each other in a divorce and don't pay attention to their debt. Or, they just keep adding to the debt as the divorce progresses, rather than trying to find a way to pay it off, or at least to minimize it. Focusing on constructively managing debt is a smart approach, but I know it can be difficult if the other side is irrational. Checking your credit report is an excellent starting point.
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