All About Divorce

Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

What If Divorce Happens

by: Jeffrey Broobin

A couple recently divorced. Their Divorce Decree stated that the husband would pay the balances on their three joint credit card accounts. Months later, after he neglected to pay off these accounts, all three creditors contacted the wife for payment. She referred them to the divorce decree, insisting that she was not responsible for the accounts. The creditors correctly stated that they were not parties to the decree and that the wife was still legally responsible for paying off the couple's joint accounts. She later found out that the late payments appeared on her credit report. You may want to look closely at issues involving credit if you've recently been through a divorce - or are contemplating one. Understanding the Different Kinds of credit accounts opened during a marriage may help show you the potential benefits and pitfalls of each. There are two types of credit accounts: individual and joint. You can permit authorized persons to use the account with either. When you apply for credit-whether a charge card or a mortgage loan - you'll be asked to select either an individual or a joint account. Individual Account The creditor considers your income, assets, and credit history. Whether you are married or single, you alone are responsible for paying off the debt. The account will appear on your credit report, and may appear on the credit report of any authorized user. If you live in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin) the individual debts of one spouse may appear on the credit report of the other. Advantages/Disadvantages If you're not employed outside the home, work part-time, or have a low-paying job, it may be difficult to demonstrate a strong financial picture without your spouse's income. But if you open an account in your name and are responsible, no one can negatively affect your credit record. Joint Account The income, financial assets, and credit history of you and your spouse are considerations for a joint account. No matter who handles the household bills, you and your spouse are responsible for seeing that debts are paid. A creditor who reports the credit history of a joint account to credit bureaus must report it in both names (if the account was opened after June 1, 1977). Advantages/Disadvantages: An application combining the financial resources of two people may present a stronger case to a creditor who is Granting a Loan or credit card. But because two people applied together for the credit, each is responsible for the debt. This rule continues to rule your credit score, even if a divorce decree assigns separate debt obligations to each spouse. Former spouses who run up bills and don't pay them can hurt their ex-partner's credit histories on jointly held accounts. Account Users If you open an individual account, you may authorize another person to use it. If you name your spouse as the authorized user, it will be reported in both of your names if the account was opened after June 1, 1977). A creditor also may report the credit history in the name of any other authorized user. Advantages/Disadvantages: User accounts often are opened for convenience. They benefit people who might not qualify for credit on their own, such as students or homemakers. While these people may use the account, you yourself are contractually liable for paying the debt. If you are Thinking About Divorce, examine the status of your credit accounts, because if you maintain joint accounts during this time, it's important to make regular payments so your credit record won't suffer. Remember that if there's an Outstanding Balance on a joint account, you and your spouse are responsible for it. Therefore, if divorce, you may want to close joint accounts or accounts in which your former spouse was an authorized user. You could also ask the creditor to Convert These Accounts to individual accounts. 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 also is not required to change joint accounts to individual accounts and could require you to reapply for credit on an individual basis and then, based on your new application, extend or deny you credit. In the case of a mortgage or home equity loan, a lender is likely to Require Refinancingto remove a spouse from the obligation.

About the author:
Jeffrey Broobin is a free-lance writer on family and finance issues; his main goal is to help people during their complicated period of life.
Website:
Email: jeffreyb@legalhelpmate.com

Circulated by Article Emporium

Read Articles:

WHEN YOU BREAK UP WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS

DISOBEYING COURT ORDERS

Don't Divorce Your Children

Romance And Prenuptial Agreements - Protect You...

The Main Reason of Family Quarrels and Divorce

10 Tips for Winning at Custody

Child Support Enforcement and Federal Criminal Law

Get a Prenuptial Agreement before Your Next Mar...

Child Custody Evaluation

GETTING MARRIED AND BEING WISE

The Main Reasons a Prenuptial Agreement May Not...

The Estate Planning Tool � A Prenuptial Agreement

Estate Planning�s Problems Solved

Mate Seekers

AN OVERVIEW OF BENEFITS (Part II)

FAMILY- FATHER AND MOTHER I LOVE YOU

When Marriage Is Not Enough: Facing Deportation...

The Best Interests of the Child

The Michigan Friend of the Court

GET TO KNOW YOUR MONTHLY SOCIAL SECUIRTY BENEFITS

Questions to Ask Your Lawyer

HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER?

What does a criminal attorney do?

Are There Really Free Public Records?

Finances and Marriage

Same Gender Marriages

Power of Attorney and Planning Ahead Can Help -...

The New Bankruptcy Law -- How Will It Affect De...

Finding a Nebraska Child Support Lawyer

Recognizing �Abuse� May Be Key Step for Many Im...

More Article Pages 1 - 2 - 3

Seven Sets of Documents You Need For Your Divorce
by: Scott Morgan

This article is designed to give someone who is considering or planning for the possibility of divorce an idea of what documents are needed. Even if you believe your case is ultimately agreed to and settled without a trial, you will be in a much better position if you already have the relevant documents in your possession. Better safe than sorry.

You should locate the relevant documents, make copies, and keep them somewhere secure, like your office or with a friend. You will then have access when it is needed.

Here are the most important seven categories of documents you should focus on.

1. Income Documents

Your spouse's income is relevant to a number of issues in a divorce case. At a minimum, get your spouse's last paycheck statement and your most recent tax return. Ideally, you would have access to all tax returns filed during the marriage, along with all supporting documents and schedules.

2. Bank Records

The monthly bank statements are very important and can lead you to other documents (cancelled checks, deposit slips, registers, etc.) that you also may need to obtain. Get at least the most recent statement for each account that is either held in your name, your spouse's name, or jointly. If possible, get copies of all statements going back to the date of marriage. In most cases this volume of records is not required, but in some cases these records can be very helpful and even necessary to analyze the case.

3. Retirement and Other Investment Records

Often the biggest asset a couple will own will be a 401k or pension account. So you will definitely want the most recent account statement and ideally all statements dating back to the time of marriage. Also, the last statement prior to marriage can be very significant (especially in community property states) to show the pre-marriage balance.

4. Credit Card statements

Again the most recent statements are a necessity, but a lot of important evidence can be garnered from the historical statements. In some cases, the credit card statements will show questionable transactions that can be of real evidentiary value. For example, they might show evidence of gifts or dinners purchased for paramours, questionable hotel rentals, or other dubious purchases.

5. Real estate documents

The most important real estate documents are the Deed of Trust and Warranty Deed for any property you currently own. If you have the entire file from (the giant stack of paper you got after the closing) for each real estate purchase or refinance transaction during the marriage it can be helpful. Additionally, documents evidencing real estate owned by either spouse prior to marriage can be significant, especially in community property states.

6. Mortgage statements & any Other Debts

You should get the most recent statements showing the current payoff balance for any other debts. For those debts that have only a coupon book with no regularly generated statements showing the current balance, you will probably need to contact the creditor by phone for the current payoff information.

7. Relevant emails or other correspondence

Correspondence or emails can be extremely helpful (or damaging, depending on your viewpoint) pieces of evidence in the case. Whether the communication is between spouses or between a spouse and some third-party, the communication is potentially relevant. Two common examples would be where your spouse makes a damaging admission about some issue in the case, or communications with paramours.

Conclusion

Determining which documents you need to obtain for your divorce case can be a very time-consuming and daunting task. Use this list as a starting point and discuss your situation with a quality divorce attorney. This person should be able to advise you specifically on the documents you need to obtain in order to protect your interests.

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor