FICO Credit Score Trumps Divorce Judge in Raleigh

I have it in writing.  The judge decided my ex was responsible for those debts.  The bum didn’t pay and FICO lowers MY credit score.  Why?  I just don’t get it.

Katherine was totally blindsided when her FICO credit score took an unexpected beating.  Her ex didn’t make payments the divorce court decreed he had to make.  The initial shock gave way to rage and then a feeling of complete helplessness.

-- Blindsided because she believed the judge presiding over her divorce had the legal power to decide who got what and who paid what.

-- Rage because Thurman did it again.  She thought he was out of her life for good, but here he was messing with her life once again.

-- Complete helplessness overcame her when she found out she couldn’t do anything about it.  Thurman had won again – he found a way to overrule the judge.

Katherine recommends her divorce attorney – she recommends he be hung by his privates in the public square.  How could he let Thurman’s lawyer talk her into allowing her ex take over the mortgage payment and credit card debt.  It sounded too good to be true.  And it was.

-- Foreclosure was right around the corner.  Not only did her FICO score plummet, Katherine and her two children would become homeless.  This meant moving in with mom.  How embarrassing.  Mom would remind her at least daily that she had warned her not to marry Thurman.  Unbearable.

-- Credit card companies were hounding her for payment.  They threatened to take HER to court.  FICO scores just keep dropping.

Why was this happening?  A legal contract was created when Katherine and Thurman financed their home and acquired joint credit cards.  A divorce judge cannot cancel these legal contracts.  What can be done?

-- Katherine can’t change the past.  She’s stuck with cleaning up Thurman’s mess.  Should she file for bankruptcy?  She dreaded talking to another lawyer.

-- Keep debt separate from the start.  A preventative step chosen by some newlyweds.  This is not absolute – some co-mingling will occur.  Mortgages are one instance.

-- Pay off or refinance debt during divorce.  Responsibility for new debt needs to match divorce decree.  When divorce judge says Thurman must pay credit card debt, Thurman needs to pay off debt or get loan in his name to pay off credit card debt.

Finding your one true love, staying together for life and both living with financial responsibility works well.  Sometimes life has other plans.  Take care of yourself.

Kathy Godin, Award-Winning Loan Officer and Branch Manager
CrossCountry Mortgage Inc.
(919) 789-9888
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