What Can You Do to Have Something Removed Off Your Credit if That Was the Divorce Ruling?

One of the biggest problems couples have with a divorce is that they cannot separate some debts no matter what happens. Even a judge's decree usually cannot force a creditor to remove something from a spouse's credit. Persistent debts after a marital dissolution often happen because married couples frequently agree to take on each other's debts during the marriage.

Joint Accounts

If you owe money on a jointly held credit card or co-signed a mortgage, you both must repay the debt regardless of what a divorce ruling says, because you pledged to repay the debt when you took it out. Divorce decrees apply to you and your spouse, not to your creditors. Only for accounts opened before June 1, 1977, do creditors not have to report histories for both spouses on a joint account, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Creditors can remove your name from debts, but this rarely happens, because having more people on an account increases the chance of repayment on the debt.

Errors

Individual accounts keep you and your ex-spouse's debt obligations separate. Unless you live in a community property state, such as Texas and California, which gives debt obligations incurred during marriage to both spouses, individual accounts should not appear on both credit histories. If a spouse's accounts appear on your credit history erroneously, you should dispute them with the credit reporting bureaus. They will investigate your claim within 30 days. You should mail the bureaus proof of separate liability. A copy of the marital dissolution, for instance, may help your case.

Considerations

One of the best ways to save your credit during and after a divorce is to work with the spouse to separate your liabilities. For instance, in general, only refinancing a loan removes your name from it. In the case of joint credit card accounts, you could divide up the bills yourselves, pay them and close the account. Some creditors will transfer debts to individual accounts from a joint account, but you may still have to pay the entire balance if the other spouse defaults on his share of the bills. Ideally, you should do this before the marriage officially ends.

Tip

Instead of trying to prove to creditors that you do not owe a debt with a divorce decree, pay the bills and try to collect from the spouse later. If a spouse does not pay his portion of the bills, you can go back to the judge and ask him to find the your ex in violation of the divorce decree. Monitor your credit report as often as possible for erroneous accounts and new debts.