Consumer Blog
My spouse has bad credit - will that affect mine?
Missouri consumer writes:
I have an excellent credit score but am marrying someone with a poor score. Will his lower score have any influence on my score after we are married?
Credit scores are not contagious - in other words, being married to him won't make his poor score bleed over to yours. However, you will feel the effects if you all try to obtain joint credit, i.e. a credit card, mortgage or some other kind of loan. If you apply together, creditors will consider your history and his in determining whether you qualify and what kind of interest rates and other terms you get.
Also, if he has a bad habit of not paying his bills and continues that practice, and you now have joint accounts that get delinquent, your score will be affected.
Technorati Tags: credit, credit rating, credit score, spouse credit score, moagoconsumer, consumer protection
Posted by on April 3, 2008 8:47 am :: Comments (2) :: Permalink
2 Responses to "My spouse has bad credit - will that affect mine?"
says:
October 25, 2008 10:05 pm
i want a divorce if i pay my bills does my credit stay good if he doesnt after we are divorced?
says:
October 27, 2008 9:09 am
To Stephanie:
It depends on whether he fails to pay bills on joint accounts held by both of you. If he does, yes that will affect your credit. If, however, he simply mishandles bills in his own name, it will have no effect on you.
