One of the things you might want to know about pre-divorce is how your credit score will be affected. If your joint finances, assets and debts are being divided in a divorce agreement, it’s bound to impact your credit history – right?  

The good news is that changing your legal relationship status doesn’t directly affect your credit score. Your rating won’t change the moment that decree absolute comes through. Unless you already have a poor credit score, you shouldn’t have trouble getting mortgages, loans and credit cards in the future.  However, there are a few other things to think about.  

Watch out for joint financial agreements

One way that your credit score could be affected by a split is if you have joint financial or credit agreements with your ex. For example, if you have a joint bank or savings account, credit card or mortgage in both of your names.  

It’s easy to make the assumption that these joint accounts will automatically be closed when the divorce is finalised. But this isn’t the case. These accounts stay open, which links you to your former spouse on your credit report. This makes you ‘financial associates’, and any reckless spending or borrowing behaviour on their part could then affect your credit rating.   

This is why it’s so important to make sure you close all shared credit agreements as soon as possible, or convert them to individual accounts where appropriate.  

How to ‘unlink’ from your ex-partner on your credit history

Deciding what to do with joint accounts during separation can be tricky. But again, this is where your divorce solicitor can help.  

They can help you to communicate and negotiate with your ex, so that you can come to an agreement about shared accounts – who is responsible for what, and how accounts will be managed once you separate. If you own a property together, your lawyer can help you agree on who will keep the property or if it should be sold.

If you can’t agree on financial matters, mediation could be useful.  

Once you have an agreement, you can end any shared credit arrangements. The next step is to contact credit reference agencies, to ask that the financial link between you and your ex-partner is removed from your credit report. This is an important extra step to take, just to make sure that your ex’s actions in the future don’t affect you and your credit score.  

Need financial advice on divorce? Get in touch with Liverpool divorce solicitor Tracey Miller Family Law’s friendly, experienced team. We’ll give you practical, jargon-free information and help you to make smart decisions that are right for your future.