How to Avoid Money & Credit Nightmares When Marriage Ends

Updated: Jul 4, 2024

Advertiser Disclosure

Sometimes, happily ever after isn’t as clear-cut as we’d like. Marriage ends, either through divorce or death and after the grieving process (and sometimes before), there come the more practical realities: the financial repercussions. After that, there exists the potential for a new marriage. Whether you’re widowed or divorced, there’s a good chance another walk down the aisle is in your future. Credit and the end of a marriage are complicated at best and devastating at its worst.

Your Credit And Legalities After End Of A Marriage

It’s crucial to update not only your banking and financial information but your legal documents as well. Any kind of trust accounts you might have, your insurance policies, credit card accounts, mortgages – it all plays a role and if you miss one detail in your efforts, it can taint your future. What makes this part of starting over so complicated is the differences in state laws and the way our credit accounts are set up.

For instance, there’s a difference in having a joint account and an account with just your name but with an authorized user. In most states, a credit card company or bank will pursue the owner of the account, but authorized users are off limits. In other states, the death of one spouse and the way the credit accounts are set up – either as individuals or joint accounts – determine if the surviving spouse is liable for the debt or if the deceased’s estate must address the balance. Of course, the estate attorney will be able to help navigate those waters, but understanding the way your accounts are set up from the beginning can keep surprises from popping up if you do lose a spouse due to death.

The Prenuptial Agreement

For years, a prenuptial agreement, for some, was considered the death of a marriage before it even began. There’s nothing romantic about these legal documents and many believed (and still do) that it shows a lack of faith in the future from the one pursuing it. Now, they’re a bit more mainstream and almost always part of any second or third marriage. This is important for a number of reasons.

What if you had married years ago and in your marriage, there were two financially aware partners who believed in paying off credit card balances each month? You might have even paid your mortgage off early. Then, your spouse passes away and years later, you meet someone and begin to build a life with that person. The only problem is, this new person in your life may not be as honed in on the importance of strong a credit rating.

Untold problems

That could present untold problems that you’re not comfortable with. A prenuptial agreement and a long hard reality check can protect you moving forward, especially if your new spouse is supporting an ex, has young children or has bankruptcies and foreclosures in his recent past. How well your finances fare moving forward can be determined before you walk down the aisle. You certainly don’t want a new credit card offer with an interest rate you’ve never had to pay before because your joint applicant has had credit problems in the past.

That doesn’t mean your new spouse is necessarily a bad money manager. The fact is, even the most well-prepared people are dealt a lousy hand at some point. Some are better able to recover than others. Not only that but by keeping your own credit sterling, the two of you can enjoy lower interest rates as you set out your new life together – if you’re able to keep her credit from affecting your credit.

Identity Theft

Finally, there’s another important reality in our modern society: identity theft. It’s one of the fastest-growing crimes in the U.S. Make no mistake: identity thieves plunder through the obituaries in search of those whom they can prey upon in difficult times. If your spouse recently passed away, you’ll want to keep a close eye on your credit scores. That’s often the first time we learn that our identities – or those of our loved ones – have been compromised. You are entitled, by law, to one complimentary credit report annually. In many states, the estate can request a copy of a deceased person’s credit and that can help you keep an eye on any potential problems from that end.

RELATED: How to Get Best Identity Protection Service

Contacting Creditors

You or the executor of the estate should contact the bank or other credit card issuers held jointly or in your spouse’s name alone to let them know of your spouse’s death. On joint credit card accounts, ask the credit card company if it will issue a card in your name only. If it’s not the policy to do so, you may be required to open a new account in your name alone. Remember, though, it will affect your credit history, especially if the joint accounts are ones you’ve had for years and you have established a strong payment pattern.

Barry Paperno, consumer operations manager for Fair Isaac Corp., explains, “…if an individual in this situation closes the account altogether, there is a potential impact. Closing an account can lower an individual’s FICO score because it reduces the total amount of credit available to that individual, which can increase the individual’s credit card utilization ratio. This is the ratio of balances to credit limits on revolving accounts.” Regardless of how you handle the logistics of the credit card account, you’re still responsible for making payments to the joint accounts.

New Credit Laws

Keep in mind that credit card issuers will eventually discover that one of the account holders has died. You run the risk of the account being closed with no warning if the bank or card company wouldn’t have approved you for the account on your own. You also run the risk of having the credit limits cut or an increase in the interest rate. The new credit laws do provide some protection in these instances: a bank or credit card network must provide 45 days notice before making changes to the account, such as increasing the APR – though in most instances, it can close an account that has changed from the user’s perspective.

Avoiding Post-Divorce Money Nightmares

Breaking up or getting divorced can be hard to do, but it can be especially difficult when finances are involved. A recent study advises divorced couples to keep a level head and highlighted five mistakes to avoid when keeping finances on track after a breakup.

When a couple gets divorced or ends a long term partnership, the overall cost of the separation can be very high. Legal fees and the process of creating two separate households from one can be a lengthy and often expensive process.

These sorts of expenses are necessary, but divorce can also prompt consumers to make bad financial decisions and purchases while their emotions are running high. There are 5 common mistakes that cause divorced couples to get into financial trouble after the breakup.

1. Ignorance

A divorce decree will likely specify which person is to pay for which borrowings. This often leads the other partner to assume that because the debt is in their ex-spouse’s name, they are no longer liable for it. However, divorce courts have no power to make creditors abide by the terms laid out in a divorce. If possible all jointly held accounts and debts should be closed before divorcing.

2. Delusion

If one partner relied on the other partner’s income during the marriage, then they may find their cash flow greatly reduced. It is important to budget for your new lifestyle. However, many people, having been unaccustomed to living frugally deny the reality of the situation and continue to shop as before meaning the bills and credit card debts can spiral out of control.

3. Neglect

When a home is owned together it is important not to neglect essential paperwork. Especially if one partner is buying out the other’s share. Often the other person’s name is not removed from the paperwork meaning that if the partner taking responsibility for mortgage payments defaults, the other partner’s credit is also affected.

4. Revenge

It is common for divorced couples to entertain the idea of ruining their ex-partner by running up large bills on credit cards, especially if the divorce was brought about by a betrayal. However, many fail to realize that they too can be held responsible for the balance.

5. Competition

If a couple has children, it can often be the case that one parent comes out of the divorce with more money and is able to afford better things for their children. This can often prompt the other parent to try and outdo the wealthier one. However, buying a child’s affection is a sure-fire way to get into unmanageable debt.

Final Word

Death or divorce – either way, you should be prepared for changes to your overall financial picture and be compassionate to your ex-partner. Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up for tough money and credit times ahead.



×

Advertiser Disclosure

Market Pro Secure® is an independent payment card comparison service supported by advertisers, a complete list of which can be seen in our Editorial Guidelines. Even though some of these advertisers are financial product providers and credit card issuers, our paid partnerships don't affect card ratings or the Best Card Picks on our website. We don't post any content that is provided or commissioned by any of our partners. However, our paid partnerships may affect how and where products appear on our site, including the order in which they are presented within listing categories. This order may also be affected by our website rules, as well as the likelihood of the applicant’s credit approval. We can't offer any warranty for the accuracy of the credit card information we share on our website, even though we do our best to keep the Terms and Conditions, rates, and other credit card details up-to-date. For more accurate information, click "APPLY NOW" to get transferred to the credit card issuer's official website. Market Pro Secure® doesn't include all available payment cards in the marketplace.