ABA Family Legal Guide

Consumer Credit

Credit Records

Establishing a Credit Record

Should I get credit in my own name, even though I am married?

Yes, if you have your own sources of income, you should establish a credit history in your own name in case you become divorced or your spouse dies. This is also important if your spouse has a poor credit record and you do not want your credit records tarnished with his or her payment performance. However, many divorced or widowed persons do not have credit histories separate from their former spouses. In these cases, credit grantors will look at the credit history of any accounts held jointly with the former spouses. The nonearning spouse may be able to obtain credit by using checks, receipts, or other records to show that he or she is worthy of credit. If their former spouses had poor credit records, nonearning spouses may show that the records do not reflect whether they deserve credit by producing previous explanatory letters sent to credit grantors, copies of contracts signed only by the spouse, receipts, or other evidence.