How Long Will My FICO Score Be Low After a Divorce?

The Fair Isaac Corporation uses the information your creditors provide to the credit bureaus to calculate your FICO credit score. If, like most couples, you and your spouse share joint debts, getting a divorce can lower your FICO score. The damage your credit will suffer as a result of divorce will vary depending on how you and your spouse divide your jointly held debts.

Facts

Your payment history has more impact on your FICO score than any other aspect of your credit history. Debts that both you and your spouse are responsible for will appear within both of your credit files. Most consumers who suffer from poor credit after a divorce do so because they assume that the divorce decree divides legal responsibility for their debts. This isn't the case. If you and your spouse owe a joint debt and the judge assigns the debt to your spouse, any missed payments on the account will impact your credit rating.

Time Frame

The Fair Credit Reporting Act notes that missed payments, charge-offs, collection accounts, foreclosures, repossessions and most judgments remain a part of your credit history for seven years from the account's first 180-day delinquency. Thus, mistakes you and your spouse make with debt during the course of a divorce will haunt both of your credit reports for many years to come.

Prevention/Solution

The Federal Trade Commission recommends paying close attention to payments during the divorce and dividing all of your assets before the divorce is final. Regardless of how trustworthy you feel your spouse is about paying off debt, any accounts that have your name on them pose a threat to your credit rating if they aren't in your control. After a divorce, you can return to court and attempt to force your spouse to sell or pay off assets that have your name on them if she will not make regular payments to creditors.

Considerations

The act of closing accounts, although necessary during a divorce, has a negative impact on your FICO score. Ten percent of your FICO score depends on the age of your credit history. If the accounts you close during divorce proceedings represent your oldest accounts, this shortens the length of your credit history, and your FICO score suffers as a result. The damage done, however, is far less than that of missed payments, defaulted accounts or creditor lawsuits.

Effects

Regardless of the damage your credit score suffers, paying your bills on time and carrying a low debt load will help your FICO score recover. The amount of time it takes for your FICO score to recover depends upon the degree of damage it suffered and the amount of positive information present within your credit history.