One of the biggest concerns people have when filing for divorce is their future financial status. From splitting up debt to taking on the financial responsibility for a home, there are many opportunities for individuals to falter. While Oregon couples filing for a divorce do not need to be worried about the actual process of divorce affecting their credit score, they should be aware of how decisions made during property division can potentially have a negative effect.
Not everyone realizes that debt must be divided during a divorce just like a marital asset. This is true regardless of who accumulated the debt and whether the other party was even aware of what was going on. This also means that the debt a person is left with in the divorce decree might not even have their name as the primary debtor, such as a credit card for which they were only an authorized spender. The decree also does not make any legal changes to an original contract, and missing a payment can have a negative impact on both individual’s credit regardless of who took on the debt.
Other decisions made during divorce can also have an impact on credit scores. For instance, divorced parents may have to pay child support to the other parent in order to continue financially supporting any children from the marriage. Failing to make timely support payments can yield a judgment that might end up being reflected on a credit report.
A petition to file for divorce does not immediately result in a lower credit score, and indeed the entire process in no way means that a person’s credit will be negatively impacted. However, debt divvied up during property division, ordered child support payments and other aspects of the divorce decree can ultimately lead to situations in which a person’s financial status is not secured. This outcome can typically be avoided when Oregon couples commit to carefully reviewing each decision before finalizing their divorces.
Source: Yahoo!, “Does Getting a Divorce Hurt Your Credit?“, Brooke Niemeyer, July 2, 2016
