Your Credit Rating and Divorce

 Posted on September 27, 2016 in Divorce

It is not unusual for people's credit ratings to take a hit during and after divorce proceedings. The divorce itself cannot directly damage your credit, as some people mistakenly believe.

However, because divorce represents a time of emotional and financial tension, as well as disputes over who is responsible for paying which debts, it is not uncommon for money to be tight, payments to fall behind, and bills to fall through the cracks.

The good news is that your experienced divorce attorney in DuPage County can help you protect your credit throughout your divorce proceedings, and after, and can even help you repair damaged credit, if necessary.

How Can Your Divorce Attorney Help You Manage Your Credit?

There are a number of steps your family law attorney in Illinois can take to help you protect your credit during your divorce, including but not limited to:

• Negotiating with your creditors and any collections agencies;
• Helping you get a clear picture of your financial situation, including your assets and debts;
• Arranging payment plans with various creditors;
• Setting up a realistic and workable budget;
• Setting up scheduled or automatic payments for outstanding debts;
• Making sure you have access to all accounts so you can monitor repayment;
• Closing or refinancing jointly held accounts;
• Checking for outstanding property liens;
• Working with your spouse's attorney to determine how debts will be paid during the divorce proceedings;
• Taking steps to prevent your spouse from draining or transferring your assets, or spending wildly and incurring more debt that you could be held responsible for;
• Working to find hidden assets that your spouse may be keeping from you;
• Making settlement offers to creditors to reduce or discharge debts;
• Discussing bankruptcy options if applicable;
• Helping you establish your own personal credit if you lack a credit history;
• Checking your credit ratings from all three credit bureaus regularly and disputing any dings to your history that are inaccurate;
• Writing letters to credit bureaus asking them to remove negative reports, especially when you have made a good faith effort to take care of your debts;
• Seeking to hold your spouse to any agreement or obligation to pay certain debts;
• Taking steps to prevent identity theft; and
• Providing credit counseling referrals.

Consult an Experienced Family Law Attorney in DuPage County

While divorce can be a time of uncertainty, your passionate DuPage County family law attorney can help you gain control of your credit rating, by working to improve or maintain your score. Having a solid credit score is one step towards establishing financial independence from your spouse, and moving forward with your life.

Source:

http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-divorce-can-impact-your-credit-scores/