Court Decrees and Account Responsibility Part 2

The court is not directing your creditors to change the contracts that you both signed. Those contracts are not affected. The creditor is still dealing with each of you as if nothing has changed, because for the creditor with a signed contract, nothing has changed.

This is true for credit accounts (credit cards, store charge cards), any kind of loan or lease (cars, motorcycles, trucks, real estate – apartment, store front, warehouse, office space), any secured credit such as a mortgage (any loan secured by real estate), etc.

Any joint bank or credit union accounts are not affected by the decree. Both of you have access to the accounts, until someone (you) notifies the financial institution of the change.

It is not enough to tell the bank or credit union what the court has ruled. They know that the court decree is directed to you and the "Ex", not towards the financial institution.

That is why the best way to prevent credit damage due to the actions of the "Ex" – intentional or not – is for you to take control of the situation and issue the proper notification to protect yourself and your family.

Court Decrees and Account Responsiblity Part 1

The limitations of a Court decree regarding your credit:

So you have hammered out who gets what now that the two of you are going to live apart. You have probably had an attorney helping you negotiate and you've definitley had the attorney draw up all the legal documents. Finally, the court issues its judicial ruling stating something like this: you will get the house, the "Ex" will pay you enough to meet your financial obligations, and so on. Assets are allocated, it is entered into both the court record and the public record. Debts are also divided; one will pay the department store charges, the other will make the car payments, and so on.

All of this has force of law, the power of the court in all of its authority. What does that mean to your credit future?

The creditors with whom you and your "Ex" have signed contracts and agreements are not affected by the court allocation and decree. The court ruling applies only to the two of you: You and the "Ex" are still bound by the contract(s) you signed before the court ruling.

(Continued in Part 2)