One tragic outcome of a divorce is that each partner more than likely will have damaged credit and be in need of credit repair.

But, a large number of my students and coaching clients  are severely damaged by divorce. There are a few things to consider to keep your credit protected.

Most couples merge all their finances during marriage and then one spouse manages everything. During divorce you will want to separate all accounts. Be aware of what accounts you have and whose name is on them. A joint account has both spouses names attached and both are responsible for seeing that any debt is paid. If the divorce decree states that one spouse is responsible for paying the credit card bill both parties are still responsible for the balance. Creditors do not know who agrees the pay the card and they do not care.

Quite often a joint account will remain open and one spouse will run up a large bill. Both spouses are responsible for this even after divorce. If you and your spouse have a joint account you will want to call the creditor and change it to an individual account. Creditors are not obligated to do this. They can require you to reapply as an individual. An account must be paid in full before it can be closed or changed.

If you have an individual account with an “authorized user” you will want to remove the authorized user. As long as they are authorized they can fully charge the card. The only person responsible for any debt is the account holder. Typically, the account is reported on the card holder’s credit and the authorized user’s credit. If you are an authorized user and the account goes negative it may affect your credit.

You will also want to dissolve any other joint accounts including bank accounts. When cancelling a bank account be sure to do it together, the legal way. You also may want to just remove one of the spouses name and divvy up the funds accordingly. You will also need to remove one spouses name from any joint loans including auto.

Deciding what to do with the house can be a little trickier. On a home loan it is not as easy to just drop one person’s name from the account. If one person decides to keep the house they will need to refinance the home in just their name. If this is not possible, the best thing to do to protect every one’s credit is to sell the house and divide the profits. Many divorcees have found their credit destroyed after their former spouse let the home foreclose. Informing new creditors that you are divorced and not responsible for the debt will not help you.

Once you dissolve all joint accounts you will probably be left with some liquid assets. With the help of your attorney you can divide any remaining cash. This is the legal and most sensible thing to do.

You will also need to notify all creditors and banks of your divorce. If a collector is calling on a debt that you are not legally responsible for you will want to let them know that you are no longer married and therefore not responsible. You may also want to notify them in writing to expedite the filing,

Once you get all your joint accounts closed and everything settled it is important that you check your credit regularly. Quite often people are surprised when, months later, something belonging to their former spouse pops up on their credit. Be sure to read over your credit report carefully looking for accounts that are not yours. Even if it is a positive account you will want to have it removed. You never know what might happen with an account. Be sure to check your credit on a monthly basis. If there is a problem, you may want to learn how to improve credit score

Divorce can be a very difficult and emotionally challenging time. Credit issues and high court fees do nothing to ease the situation. If you are separating from your spouse or thinking about divorce, take the proper steps to separate your finances and all accounts. Our world today is run off credit so it is important to protect it. By taking these measures early in the process you will prepare yourself for a new life that is not held back by a low credit score.

To learn more tips on how to fix bad credit, visit my website at www.CrushingTheCreditBureaus.com

Improve Credit Score Tips In Houston

Improving Your Credit Score is easy when you follow people in the know. First, your dispute letter to the credit bureaus needs to be short and to the point. Don't cite the constitution or threaten them with a lawsuit. Instead of being a junior legal eagle, just make sure that each of your dispute letters have these three elements:

• Number 2 - Why you are disputing it
• Number 3 - What specific results you are seeking
• Number 1 - What exactly you are disputing

Every dispute letter must contain these three elements. Look at this example of a dispute letter to see what I mean: DON'T USE MY WORDS!!

The credit bureaus may consider your letter frivolous and dismiss the dispute if it looks too much like one of hundreds of other letters copied from a credit repair course. With that said, take a look at one of my sample letters to the credit bureaus:

• Dear Credit Bureau Name
• Your Name
• I am disputing the Sears account appearing on my credit report, number XXXX, for the reason of (mention one of 13 reasons below).
• Your Date Of Birth
• Your Address
• Please delete. Thank You.
• Re: (account and reason for your dispute goes here)
• Your Social Security Number

Below are the 13 reasons from which you can choose to dispute your bad account:

• Creditor Classification
• Opened/Not Accurate/Inaccurate Terms
• Account Transferred To Another Lender
• Inaccurate Late Pays
• Obsolete Account
• Incorrect Balance Being Reported
• Inaccurate Remarks
• Incorrect Date
• Original Creditor Not Listed
• Account Type Inaccurate
• Account Closed By Consumer
• Not Liable For the Account
• Incorrect Account Designation

Using one of these reasons are the simple and smart way to increase your credit score-no threats, law school tryouts or plagiarized credit repair book letter. This letter has potentially powerful benefits-if the first reason is verified by your dispute letter, then write a second letter citing a different reason on the list. By providing a different reason for each account with each bureau, you will repair your credit little by little with each credit bureau.

Before reading this article, you might have told them that the account is "not yours" (as most credit courses instruct you to say) and prayed that they won't be able to verify it in the 30-day time limit. However, you now have an arsenal with which to dispute each and every negative account on your credit report.

Let me reassure you of some important truths: There are many myths disguised as truths when it comes to credit repair. There are also hidden secrets that the credit bureaus don't want you to know about how to fix your credit and only a select few have this knowledge. I hope you can now begin restoring your credit with effective methods rather than false myths. For More Information on credit repair Click the link below and go to our website. Author Bio: Mark Garcia will teach you how to Improve Your Credit Score fast with his FREE Instant Access to a 3 minute video about his own credit repair story. You can also download a special report on the "10 Most Dangerous Mistakes That People Make When Trying To Fix Bad Credit" available at Crushing the Credit Bureaus.

Ways To Improve Credit Score In San Antonio

Improving Your Credit Score isn't difficult when you follow good advice. First, your dispute letter to the credit bureaus needs to be short and to the point. Don't quote the Bill of Rights or play legal tag with your lawyers. Fixing your credit is not about legal intimidation; it's about these three points:

• Number 3 - What specific results you are seeking
• Number 1 - What exactly you are disputing
• Number 2 - Why you are disputing it

Write every dispute letter with these three points. Take a look at this example of a simple dispute letter: DON'T USE MY WORDS!!

Credit bureaus don't like letters that appear to be copied out of a credit repair course. That said, below is a sample letter to the credit bureaus.

• Re: (account and reason for your dispute goes here)
• Dear Credit Bureau Name
• Please delete. Thank You.
• Your Date Of Birth
• Your Name
• I am disputing the Sears account appearing on my credit report, number XXXX, for the reason of (mention one of 13 reasons below).
• Your Social Security Number
• Your Address

Next, choose one of the 13 reasons below to enter into your dispute letter:

• Incorrect Date
• Inaccurate Late Pays
• Inaccurate Remarks
• Incorrect Account Designation
• Account Closed By Consumer
• Account Type Inaccurate
• Obsolete Account
• Creditor Classification
• Not Liable For the Account
• Opened/Not Accurate/Inaccurate Terms
• Original Creditor Not Listed
• Incorrect Balance Being Reported
• Account Transferred To Another Lender

Good credit scores start with good reasons of dispute like these, no legal mumbo jumbo or plagiarized boiler plate letter that they've seen hundreds of times. The beauty of this system is twofold- if the credit bureaus verify your first dispute letter as accurate, then craft a different dispute letter using another reason or item. When you provide a different reason to each bureau for each bad account, you will repair your credit one by one.

Before reading this article, you might have told them that the account is "not yours" (as most credit courses instruct you to say) and prayed that they won't be able to verify it in the 30-day time limit. But by being an informed consumer, you now have a treasure trove of reasons to choose from.

To sum up: There are many myths disguised as truths when it comes to credit repair. And there are many secrets within the credit repair system that you cannot know without the help of a qualified expert. I hope that you are now armed with the knowledge of truth so that you won't fall victim to false information as you improve your credit score. For More Information on credit repair Click the link below and go to our website. Author Bio: Mark Garcia will teach you how to Improve Your Credit Score fast with his FREE Instant Access to a 3 minute video about his own credit repair story. You can also download a special report on the "10 Most Dangerous Mistakes That People Make When Trying To Fix Bad Credit" available at Crushing the Credit Bureaus.