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General Questions on Seperating accounts

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Chell3719
Member

General Questions on Seperating accounts

I have been seperated for the last almost 2 years. We have all the divorce papers together just haven't filed them.  We are very good friends and this is a cooperative divorce.  Obviously I am still looking out for myself, so I have a few questions.

 

1.  We have a house and a condo: both in  joint property state.  Our paperwork says they are 50% each of ours.  My ex is paying the mortgate.  If for some reason he defaults, will I take this hit on my credit for this default.

 

2.  If he sells the condo to buy a new place and runs credit for his loan it won't affect mine correct?  And will I get credit for the payoff of the loan on the orignal condo?

 

3.  We have one joint credit card through AmEx with Costco.  Currently we have our own account numbers on our cards but I guess it is one account.  How do I salvage my credit in seperating this account?

 

4.  My auto loan on my car is in his name?  I pay the loan but and am listed as the primary driver, but it is in his name.  USAA says that they can give me a loan for the car and keep the payments the same becuase they wont give me his percentage because his credit rating is around 790 - 810.  So I am thinking I shoudl just leave it in his name.   Thoughts

 

5.  Lastly - I pay all the bills for the house - cable, phone, power etc.  Howver they are all in his name.  Does all this affect my credit.  SHould I get them to my name to show my credit. I have never worried about it before. 

 

I currently have a score of 747 and I am trying to get it back up to 800 plus.\

 

Thank you,

 

Chell 

Message 1 of 16
15 REPLIES 15
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts

When you say that you are in a "joint property" state, do you mean a community property state? In which state do you live?
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 2 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts


@Chell3719 wrote:

I have been seperated for the last almost 2 years. We have all the divorce papers together just haven't filed them.  We are very good friends and this is a cooperative divorce.  Obviously I am still looking out for myself, so I have a few questions.

 

1.  We have a house and a condo: both in  joint property state.  Our paperwork says they are 50% each of ours.  My ex is paying the mortgate.  If for some reason he defaults, will I take this hit on my credit for this default.

 

2.  If he sells the condo to buy a new place and runs credit for his loan it won't affect mine correct?  And will I get credit for the payoff of the loan on the orignal condo?

 

3.  We have one joint credit card through AmEx with Costco.  Currently we have our own account numbers on our cards but I guess it is one account.  How do I salvage my credit in seperating this account?

 

4.  My auto loan on my car is in his name?  I pay the loan but and am listed as the primary driver, but it is in his name.  USAA says that they can give me a loan for the car and keep the payments the same becuase they wont give me his percentage because his credit rating is around 790 - 810.  So I am thinking I shoudl just leave it in his name.   Thoughts

 

5.  Lastly - I pay all the bills for the house - cable, phone, power etc.  Howver they are all in his name.  Does all this affect my credit.  SHould I get them to my name to show my credit. I have never worried about it before. 


HTSU is right.  A lot depends on your particular state as not all community property states are the same.

 

The questions that I can give you precise answers on irrespective of state are:

 

1.  Yes.  A creditor is virtually never bound by the terms of any domestic agreements or family court orders.  If he defaults on the mortgage, the creditor can sue you, obtain a judgment and attach your wages etc ... .  Your only recourse is to then file suit against your ex.

 

2.  Maybe.  Yes.  If he pays off the mortgage successfully, this should be a positive event on your credit report.  If he trashes his credit on a new mortgage, then should not effect you provided the new loan was entered into subsequent to your actual date of divorce or, in some states, the date of your legal separation.

 

3.  Cancel the account.  The only way to remove yourself is to ask the creditor to remove you.  Sometimes they will, but sometimes they will not.  If they will not you have to close the account completely to escape potential liability.

 

4.  Leaving the loan in his name may pose problems.  If you default on the car loan, his credit will take the hit.  Depending on the loan agreement and how the car is titled, he could sell the car out from under you.  Of course you may have recourse against him in family court, but often family court is reluctant to hold someone in contempt.  If the title is in your name only, there is still risk.  As the debtor, he can make adminsitrative changes to the loan (i.e. address, loan terms & conditions) that may have financial implications for you.  I have seen ex-spouses who refinance the loan for a shorter term and that could cause you to be indefault and lose the car.  If he files BK you lose the car.  You are much better protected if the title AND the loan are in your name.

 

5.  This is outside of my area of expertise.   

 

 

 

Message 3 of 16
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts


Chell3719 wrote:

...5.  Lastly - I pay all the bills for the house - cable, phone, power etc.  Howver they are all in his name.  Does all this affect my credit.  SHould I get them to my name to show my credit. I have never worried about it before. 

 

I currently have a score of 747 and I am trying to get it back up to 800 plus.\

 

Thank you,

 

Chell 



I'll take a stab at this one. Smiley Very Happy None of these items normally appear on a credit report, unless you get behind on one of them and get turned into collections, and then the collection might turn up on the report. Since they're not in your name, I wouldn't think that they would ever hit your credit even if your soon-to-be-ex got behind. Of course, I suppose this could be different in a community property state, so please confirm with an attorney who is knowledgeable about the laws of your state.

When the time comes that you're setting up housekeeping on your own, you might find that your utility/ cable/ phone/ cellular providers pull your own credit before starting up service in your name. (Not always, though.) Even though you will get inquiries hitting your reports, these aren't credit accounts, so again, they shouldn't show up as regular accounts on your credit report.

Have you pulled all three of your credit reports within the last 12 months? If not, go to annualcreditreport.com and get all three free. It's very important for everyone to be familiar with what's showing on their reports, especially when you're going through major life changes. You also might have errors on your reports, and it can take a while to get them straightened out. Note: this site is NOT the same thing as freecreditreport-dot-com and other sites. This is the site mandated by the FTC for consumer access to our reports. hth
Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 03-03-2010 03:24 AM
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 4 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts

The biggest issue with leaving thngs in his name, is it takes all control away from you.  So if the electric bill is in his name, he could call the power company and cancel your electric, phone, cable, etc. 

 

With the car, he can take that car away from you at any point he chooses.  So even though you two are friends right now, what if something happens and he gets angry?  He can take that car away and you have no legal rights to it.  Even though you're paying for it, it's in his name.  Additionally if you're doing good with your payments, you're not getting an credit for those payments.  In other words, it's not helping your credit score.

Message 5 of 16
GregB
Valued Contributor

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts

Some extremely good advice so far. I have a few things to add.

 

I think you will find that Costco Membership IS ALWAYS IN ONE PERSON'S NAME as Member and others are Additional Users. That might be only for business memberships. Since the Amex Costco Account goes with the membership, I assume it is that way also. So I don't think you will find the Amex is "joint". Probably the only way you will split that is for the AU to drop off the account. If you are the AU, then I see no problem. The Primary on the Amex is responsible, at least after divorce is done. Is there ONE statement coming for both Amex Cards? Your credit reports will show who the responsible party is on the account.

 

It is best that you get the divorce done. It is probably 10-100 times more important than any of these issues that you get a divorce done while it is cooperative. Issues like losing a car that is in his name due to an unforeseen problem are trivial compared to wasting the huge fees in a litigious divorce.

 

 

Message 6 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts


@GregB wrote:

Some extremely good advice so far. I have a few things to add.

 

I think you will find that Costco Membership IS ALWAYS IN ONE PERSON'S NAME as Member and others are Additional Users. That might be only for business memberships. Since the Amex Costco Account goes with the membership, I assume it is that way also. So I don't think you will find the Amex is "joint". Probably the only way you will split that is for the AU to drop off the account. If you are the AU, then I see no problem. The Primary on the Amex is responsible, at least after divorce is done. Is there ONE statement coming for both Amex Cards? Your credit reports will show who the responsible party is on the account.

 

It is best that you get the divorce done. It is probably 10-100 times more important than any of these issues that you get a divorce done while it is cooperative. Issues like losing a car that is in his name due to an unforeseen problem are trivial compared to wasting the huge fees in a litigious divorce.

 

 


 

Not sure if this applies, but it's important to remember that an AU is totally responsible on an AmEx account.  Buried deep within the card agreement there will be a clause that states that an AU has the legal obligation to repay an account where they cannot collect -- for any reason -- from the main cardholder.  AmEx is probably the only ******* card company that does that.  But they do.  Always.

Message 7 of 16
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts


O6 wrote:

Not sure if this applies, but it's important to remember that an AU is totally responsible on an AmEx account.  Buried deep within the card agreement there will be a clause that states that an AU has the legal obligation to repay an account where they cannot collect -- for any reason -- from the main cardholder.  AmEx is probably the only ******* card company that does that.  But they do.  Always.



Really? I knew that AmEx reserved the right to go after the AU for charges made by the AU. I didn't know that they would try to get payment for the cardholder's charges as well. Smiley Surprised If they do that, then the AU is really a joint account holder!

* goes to dig up AmEx mailings *
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 8 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts


@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

Not sure if this applies, but it's important to remember that an AU is totally responsible on an AmEx account.  Buried deep within the card agreement there will be a clause that states that an AU has the legal obligation to repay an account where they cannot collect -- for any reason -- from the main cardholder.  AmEx is probably the only ******* card company that does that.  But they do.  Always.

 



Really? I knew that AmEx reserved the right to go after the AU for charges made by the AU. I didn't know that they would try to get payment for the cardholder's charges as well. Smiley Surprised If they do that, then the AU is really a joint account holder!

* goes to dig up AmEx mailings *

 

You're right ... my error.  They hold the AU responsible for their use of the account.  I have seen many instances, though, where AmEx isn't very careful on distinguishing who charged what.  Also, in some community property states who charged what is irrelevant.   
Message Edited by O6 on 03-04-2010 05:18 PM
Message 9 of 16
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: General Questions on Seperating accounts

My guess is that creditors will go after anyone with a pulse, not particularly caring if their target is actually liable. Money is money, and consumer ignorance benefits the lenders. Smiley Tongue
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 10 of 16
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