As part of the divorce proceedings, your attorney will at some point be trying to determine what credit card debts are in each of your individual names as well as shared accounts and authorized user accounts. Often times, understandably, clients are not sure. The distinction in the type of account is important, as it not only affects future liability on the account but also future reporting to the bureaus.
The liability for an individual account lies with the person whose name is on the account (presumably the person who opened it). A shared or co-debtor account allows the credit card company to go after either or both parties on the account. An authorized user situation creates a more complicated scenario. The credit card company cannot attempt to collect payments from a mere authorized user. Their recourse for collection is against the individual whose name is on the account so long as the authorized user did not sign the application or give their social security number to the credit card company. But it is important to know that the credit card companies will still report the payment history on both the individual owner and the authorized user to the credit bureaus. So, if you are going through a divorce, and you are an authorized user on your spouse’s account, be sure to contact the credit card company and have yourself removed as an authorized user. If you are the owner of the account and your spouse or former spouse is an authorized user on the account, call the credit card company and remove him or her as an authorized user on the account. Taking this action timely should help you to obtain the most accurate information being reported to the three credit bureaus.
The three major credit bureaus are TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. The reports of each of these bureaus differ in content. It may not be a bad idea if you are going through a divorce to pull all three. Under federal law, everyone is entitled to one free report from each bureau every year. So a savvy consumer can get a free report every four months on a rotating basis from each of the three bureaus! But be careful. There are a lot of sources that actually charge for these reports despite their name! So to get the free ones, be sure to go to www.annualcreditreport.com.
© 2008 – 2018, Ohio Family Law Blog. All rights reserved.
Attorney Robert “Chip” Mues has been focusing his legal practice throughout Southwest Ohio primarily in divorce and family law matters since 1978. Chip is passionate about family law and has proudly published the Ohio Family Law Blog since 2007. In addition, he is the managing partner of Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight & Mues. To learn more about him or the law firm, visit the firm’s website at www.hcmmlaw.com. Appointments are available in person, over the phone or by Zoom. Call us at 937 293-2141.
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I recently saw this website – http://www.freebiecreditreport.com – claiming that you can get a credit report 100% free. Ha! Yeah as long as you remember to cancel the 7 day trial. Consumer beware, sign up for these services if you must, but remember to cancel before trial ends or be billed up to $30/month.
Have you ever heard of a credit bureau showing someone as dead that wasn’t? We sold a house on contract, and the people are trying to finance it now in their name. They supposedly haven’t been able to because the husband keeps showing up dead from the credit bureaus. Is there any way to fix this?
There are also companies like http://www.choicepersonalloans.com that claim to offer free credit reports to potential applicants. However, as Jake mentions above, they are only free if you remember to cancel before the trial is over!
Identity theft can occurs with anybody . what exactly is it , it is like someone uses your identity, your credit card, your pin no each and every thing related to your bank account. But Now you can review your complaint on http://www.creditreportproblems.com/ without
paying nothing.
I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you that I really enjoyed this post. It was full of fresh information and creativity, both of which we always can use more of.