Many people wonder what happens when they have good credit but their spouse does not.  Exactly how does the spouse’s credit affect your credit.  Each person regardless of marriage status has their own credit file and when a person is married they do not affect each other.  In most states except for community property states you are not even responsible for bills your spouse runs up one their own while you are married.

But if you have any joint accounts or have co-signed a loan with them you are both equally responsible for the debt.  This information will be reported on each of your credit reports.  It is a good idea for each married person to have at least one credit card in their name only.  This is a also a financial safeguard in case something does happen to your spouse.

If you are aware at the beginning of a relationship that your partner is not good with money and credit management then do not add them to your accounts.  Also do not open any new accounts ones with them either.  If you know they have a problem with managing credit you should try to get them professional help.  People are addicted to many things including gambling and shopping which both accept credit cards.

If you partner or spouse is inexperienced with managing credit then start them out small.  Give them a credit card with a low credit limit and have them manage it with your help.  Remember small steps only allow you to make small mistakes along the way.  I am sure you can guess what big steps allow you to make.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Credit Repair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.