Many problems with credit can be caused by going through a divorce. Many times, regardless of what the court order may say, the lenders just want their money and so they will harass you for payment and report bad credit on your report even if your ex-spouse is supposed to be the one responsible. Divorce is frequently a cause of bad credit.
But what if you are still married? In this article, someone wrote in asking about identity theft by a spouse and what they can do. The person answering the question gave three scenarios with the last one including ?file for divorce?. This was supposedly the last resort according to the advice.
But really? If you can’t trust your spouse not to steal your identity and make you responsible for paying for things that you never consented to and essentially threatening your own credit and the livelihood of both of you, should you really stay married to this person?
Bad credit for either party in a marriage affects both parties. It is often difficult to qualify for a home mortgage with just one income. And credit card payments and car payments and food, lodging and everything else typically comes out of a combined income. Surely, you’re not going to let your spouse starve if they make less money than you do and they don’t have any money for groceries. And splitting all expenses straight down the middle isn’t exactly teamwork.
So, I tend to disagree with the advice that in this case divorce is the last option. Of course, it does depend upon other things in the relationship and extenuating circumstances, of course, but marriage needs to be a partnership. You need to work as a team. And if you can’t trust your partner in a business you call it quits. If you can’t trust your partner in a marriage, you should also call it quits. Your choice.
