Joint Account with Ex Wife - Does it affect my credit?

JamesSouthend

Help!



Going through a divorce currently but my ex wife and I both hold a joint account solely for the purpose of paying the mortgage on the jointly owned property. If she gets any adverse credit rating while that aco!!!! remains open, does it affect my own credit rating?



James

[Deleted User]

Neither of you has a credit rating, but lenders may take the other's history into account when either of you applies for credit.

National_Debtline

Hi James


The joint bank account and joint mortgage give you and your ex wife a financial connection. That means a credit check on you brings up your ex wife's credit file and vice versa. If there is no overdraft on the joint bank account you should be able to easily have one person's name removed.


However with the mortgage it is not usually that straight forward. If you plan to keep the house, the lender would usually want to see that the person still living in the property has afforded to pay the mortgage on their own for a certain period of time before considering removing the other person's name.


Experian have said they may agree that no financial connection exists, even where there is still a joint mortgage, if the couple are separated and living apart. Equifax and TransUnion (formally CallCredit) would want to see all joint accounts are closed or settled before agreeing to a financial disassociation.


Best wishes


Susie
@natdebtline

JamesSouthend

Thank you!


That helps a lot and I can plan properly ahead

MEM62

JamesSouthend wrote: »

Going through a divorce currently but my ex wife and I both hold a joint account solely for the purpose of paying the mortgage on the jointly owned property.

I would take steps to ensure that this is all that it can be used for. ie That no borrowing can be arranged against the account without both signatures. You ex may be perfectly trustworthy but there are those that have been caught out in similar circumstances.

PRAISETHESUN

MEM62 wrote: »

I would take steps to ensure that this is all that it can be used for. ie That no borrowing can be arranged against the account without both signatures. You ex may be perfectly trustworthy but there are those that have been caught out in similar circumstances.

Definitely this. Remember that with a joint account you are both 100% liable for any debt, regardless of who accrued it. Nothing worse than making an already unfriendly situation that much worse