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with having to rebuild your own once-good credit. 
Close joint accounts by writing to each creditor and 
indicating that as of the date of your letter you will not 
be responsible for any charges your spouse might run up. 
When you get ready to close your joint accounts, remember 
that if you want individual credit with the same creditors, 
they have the right to require that you reapply for the 
credit if your joint accounts were based on your spouse's 
income.  If the accounts were based on your income, however, 
or if either of you could have qualified for the credit at 
the time of application you will probably not be required to 
reapply. 
Avoid negotiating a divorce agreement that allows your 
spouse to maintain your joint accounts in exchange for 
paying off the outstanding balances on those accounts.  
Remember, as long as those joint accounts remain 
open-whether you use them or not you will be legally liable 
for them regardless of what your divorce agreement says. 
Divorce
A spouse who divorces and does not have separate credit in 
his or her own name is in a very vulnerable position.  If 
the joint accounts are kept open, the consumer risks 
becoming liable for an ex-spouse's debt.  If all joint 
accounts are closed or if the consumer no longer is removed 
from an authorized user account, the consumer may be left 
without ready access to credit at a time when credit can be 
especially valuable.  However, if you have your own credit 
identity separate from a former spouse, access to credit 
should be generally unaffected by a divorce-except in the 
case of joint account problems.  As was noted in the section 
on widowhood in Chapter 7, creditors cannot deny a consumer 
who shared accounts with a former spouse continued use of 
those accounts, nor can creditors change the terms of credit 
simply because of a change in marital status.  Creditors 
can, however, require that you reapply for that credit if 
you would not have qualified for the credit on your own at 
the time application was first made.  In marriages where 
there is a significant disparity in earnings between spouses 
and the spouse with the smaller income shared accounts with 
the other, the person making less money risks losing the 
credit. 
If you reapply for credit once held jointly or apply for 
completely new credit, potential creditors cannot discount 
or refuse to consider non-job income such as child support 
and alimony.  However, they do have the right to request 
that you prove the reliability of these sources of income 
and can deny a person credit if they judge the income 
sources to be unreliable.  If you will be relying on non-job 
income to help you qualify for credit, it is a good idea to 
collect and save any documentation you may have that 
supports the reliability of that income.  Such documentation 
might include: canceled checks, legal documents such as your 
divorce agreement, a notarized letter from your ex-spouse, 
bank deposit slips, etc. 
In evaluating your credit-worthiness, creditors also must 
consider the credit history of a former spouse if you can 
demonstrate that your former spouse's history reflects your 
history too.  If that credit history is positive and if you 
have no individual credit and never shared credit with your 
former spouse, you may want to use this provision to build 
your own credit record.  However, as we indicated in Chapter 
7, this is a long shot. 
To demonstrate that a former spouse's history reflects 
yours, you may be able to provide copies of checks you wrote 
to pay on accounts, letters you may have written to 
creditors regarding accounts, etc.  If you are on good 
terms, you @ may want to ask your former spouse to write a 
letter to the potential creditor on your behalf. 
If you are a woman and take back your maiden name after a 
divorce, be certain to let your creditors know.  Ask them to 
begin reporting accounting information to credit bureaus in 
your new name.  Then wait a couple of months, and check your 
credit record again to make sure that your creditors are 
reporting correctly to credit bureaus. 
Bankruptcy after Divorce
In today's economic times, it is not inconceivable for your 
former spouse to file for bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy law may 
wipe out debt that your former spouse owes you as part of 
your divorce agreement, but it does not cancel alimony and 
child support obligations and does not wipe out tax debts.  
A bankruptcy can make it difficult for your former spouse to 
make payments, possibly pushing you into bankruptcy too. 
Consumers living in community property states face 
additional problems.  In those states, both parties in a 
marriage are jointly liable for any debts that were incurred 
during that marriage whether those debts were acquired 
individually or together.  That means that if a former 
spouse, as part of a divorce agreement, promises to pay off 
all debt from a marriage and fails to live up to that 
agreement, creditors have the legal right to expect payment 
from the other party in the now dissolved marriage. 
In such a situation, you have two basic options-pay off the 
debt and try to save your own credit history, or file for 
bankruptcy.  If you want to pay off the debt, and if those 
financial obligations are sizable, it is advisable that you 
try to negotiate a payment schedule with each of your 
creditors. 
To arrange a workable payment plan, contact each creditor 
directly-by letter, telephone or in person.  Tell your 
creditors what your situation is.  Explain that you would 
like to meet your obligations but your income is such that 
you will need to work out a schedule you that can afford. 
If you do not feel comfortable initiating these 
negotiations, schedule an appointment with a counselor at 
the Consumer Credit Counseling (CCC) office nearest you.  
CCC counselors are professionals, have a lot of experience 
in creditor negotiations and are well respected by most 
creditors. 
Do not opt for bankruptcy without giving it a lot of serious 
thought.  A bankruptcy will remain on your credit record for 
up to ten years and will make it even more difficult for you 
to build a positive credit record.  Before you make a 
decision regarding bankruptcy, talk with a CCC counselor so 
that you understand all the ramifications of that step, and