In the pandemic, many people have lost their jobs and have seen their debts grow. Here we want to let you know the laws that protect you.

Who tells you that you are getting divorced without first getting married?
The answer is pretty close to, NO ONE. At best, perhaps an expert on the subject of prophecy with the invocation of beings from beyond. Even so, there is no certainty. Well, no one predicted Marian that would get divorced before her marriage was finalized. She married the father of her children and never imagined that five years later she would separate.

Moreover, that her score credit would be affected because her ex-husband stopped paying the debts he owed her after the court assigned the division of community property to the couple, including the debts they had jointly, and he did not comply with them. On the contrary, she continued to pay her obligations on time, not realizing that her ex was in default, and as a result, her credit was in decline.

Believing that this would be the best option, during the divorce proceedings they decided to sell the house to settle some debts and divide the assets. Marian had plans to buy another house to provide a safe home for her children once the separation was complete.

But it turned out that when she went to apply for a mortgage loan to buy her dream home, she was told that her credit history had serious delinquencies and losing accounts, and for that reason, she was going to be denied. It was then that she realized that the ex had failed to pay his share of the obligations they had both signed as debtors.

Like Marian, many people have been victims of circumstances like these. In Puerto Rico, the divorce rate is high and increasing. That is why you should take the proper precautions before granting any signature on credit applications even if it is your husband. Once you acquire joint accounts with your partner and separation occurs, there is no way to release you from the responsibility of payment.

Creditors will always go after the debtors, whether it is one or two signers. When you grant your social security and sign a credit application, you are automatically responsible for the payment of the debt up to the total balance of the debt. If in the eventuality over time, the debt is paid incorrectly, you or the signers, whoever they are, are just as responsible for those delinquencies, and therefore, it will appear on your credit history.

While it is true that there is no way to get rid of an account once you have signed for it and it has not been paid off, it is also true that you can prevent and protect your credit to avoid these types of complications, which in the end, would be devastating to gaining access to credit opportunities and improving your quality of life.

Although some of the recommendations are not very realistic in the current situation we are living in, it is always essential to keep them in mind and to the extent that your circumstances allow you to implement them as part of your lifestyle. Among the alternatives, it is suggested that before getting married you make a contract of capitulations that includes among the stipulations to have independent accounts and none of them should be together.

Another possibility would be for the couple to reach a mutual agreement to have the debts separately, with the exception of the property they buy, since by law married couples must both sign and be applicants for the mortgage loan in order to be granted the house.

In the event of a separation, this would not be as risky for your credit, since usually the properties are sold or one of the parties assigns his or her interest in the property. However, should this occur, you should file a new mortgage loan where the signer is only the party interested in the property.

If you are married and would like to protect your credit, you should try to pay off the debts you have jointly. In the future when you apply for credit, do so individually. In addition, this will help you not to have both of your incomes compromised and achieve greater creditworthiness.

If you need additional information on this topic you can contact 800 Credit Solutions at 321-578-9500.