| CREDIT & DIVORCE If you've recently been through a divorce or are contemplating one, you may want to look closely at issues involving credit. Understanding the different kinds of credit accounts opened during a marriage may help shed light on the potential benefits and pitfalls of each. If you're considering divorce or separation, pay special attention to the status of your credit accounts. If you maintain joint accounts during this time, it's important to make regular payments so your credit record won't suffer. As long as there's an outstanding balance on a joint account, you and your spouse are responsible for it. If You Divorce By law, a creditor cannot close a joint account because of a change in marital status, but can do so at the request of either spouse. A creditor, however, does not have to change joint accounts to individual accounts. The creditor can require you to reapply for credit on an individual basis. On that basis, the creditor may extend or deny you credit. In the case of a mortgage or home equity loan, a lender is likely to require refinancing to remove a spouse from the obligation. If you divorce, you may want to close joint accounts or accounts in which your former spouse was an authorized user. You may ask the creditor to convert these accounts to individual accounts. |
| Maintaining Your Credit While Divorcing |

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