How To Rebuild My Credit Score After A Florida Divorce
Getting divorced can be both costly and time-consuming. In addition to all the expenses, court costs, and attorney’s fees, a divorce may also affect your credit score.
However, it is critical to take steps to protect and rebuild your credit score following a divorce. You need to speak with an Orlando divorce attorney to understand what you can do to protect your credit score.
Will My Divorce Affect My Credit Score?
While getting divorced itself will not directly impact your credit score, the divorce-related financial issues may take a toll on your credit score. Because it can be easy to lose track of who gets what and who’s responsible for what debt in a divorce, the following issues may hurt your credit score after a divorce:
- Missing payments
- Making late payments
- Defaulting on an account
- Incurring too much debt
- Having a bad credit history
If you and your spouse have joint accounts or purchased assets or property together, a divorce is likely to affect your credit score. Your financial decisions following a divorce could also damage your score.
Check Your Credit Score and Request a Credit Report
The first step to rebuild your credit score after a divorce is to check your credit score. Usually, you can check your score on the credit card statement.
You should also request a credit report to confirm that all the information on the report is accurate and correct. If you notice any old debts or other mistakes on your credit report, get in touch with the credit reporting agency to correct the mistake.
If you notice that a divorce has taken a toll on your credit score, it is vital to take the necessary steps to rebuild the score.
How Can I Rebuild My Credit Score After a Divorce?
Essentially, there are three tips that can help you rebuild your credit score after a Florida divorce:
- Pay your bills on time
Paying your bills on time is a good way to rebuild your credit score because missing payments or making late payments can negatively affect your score. If you and your spouse incurred any debts during the marriage, it is essential to know who is responsible for paying those debts after ending the marriage.
- Pay attention to joint accounts
If you have not closed a joint account or have a shared loan with your spouse, you need to ensure that the payments are made on time (even if it is your former’s spouse responsibility to make the payments). Activity on your joint account affects your and your spouse’s credit scores. That is why it is best to consult with a lawyer to help you close joint accounts during or after a divorce.
- Keep your balances low
Your credit utilization rate is one of the factors that affect your credit score. If you want to rebuild your credit score following a divorce, you need to focus on paying down debts and keeping your balances low.
Call an Orlando Divorce Attorney Today
If you are considering a divorce, it is critical to take steps to protect your credit score. If you have already finalized your divorce, you should focus on rebuilding your credit score. Our Orlando divorce attorneys at Donna Hung Law Group can help.
Call 407-999-0099 to discuss how you can protect and rebuild your credit score.
