Most divorce attorneys will recommend that you send a correspondence to creditors with whom you and your spouse have a joint line of credit indicating that you are involved in a divorce action and asking that the creditor close the account or open separate lines of credit. This is especially important with home equity lines of credit.

A credit report is not usually required by the attorney or the court in a divorce action. However, obtaining a credit report may be important for your own personal reasons. It is not uncommon for a party to a divorce to negatively effect the credit of his or her spouse by incurring additional credit or failing to pay a joint debt in a timely manner. You also may find it useful to review your credit report and address any potential problems before you need to refinance a mortgage, a car loan, or a business debt quickly as part of the financial settlement in your divorce action. Most importantly, obtaining a credit report is a sensible action for you to take in evaluating your financial situation as you set out to establish your own financial identity separate from your spouse.

If negative information is contained in your report, you can either pay off the debt and request that the lender update the record or write an explanation of the debt and ask the credit bureau to add it to your report.

The best option is to discuss the issue with your attorney and obtain his or her assistance. Often, creditors will respond more quickly and favorably when an attorney contacts the creditor on the debtor’s behalf.