Will My Collection Accounts Ruin My Spouse’s Credit Score?
- When you get married, you don’t combine credit scores or credit reports with your spouse—in fact, marital status doesn’t even appear on your credit report.
- If you live in a community property state, your spouse could be responsible for debt you take on during your marriage.
- If your spouse cosigns a loan for you or you apply for credit jointly, your credit behavior can affect their credit score (and vice versa).
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Getting married means joining forces with another person, agreeing to experience life alongside them. For many couples, this also means sharing finances—opening joint bank and credit accounts, and maybe buying vehicles and a home together.
But what if your credit history isn’t so good? Maybe you’ve got accounts in collections, and you’ve considered seeking debt relief to get out from under your credit balances. Will this impact your spouse’s credit score? Let’s find out.
How Do My Collection Accounts Affect My Spouse’s Credit Score?
Any collection accounts in your name only affect your score only. That’s because your credit score belongs to just you.
Getting married doesn’t mean merging credit scores or credit reports—your credit history doesn’t get combined with your spouse’s. Changing your last name to your spouse’s in marriage also doesn’t affect your credit histories. In fact, your marital status doesn’t even appear on your credit report.
But there are instances where your credit behavior and history might impact your spouse (and vice versa). Here’s when that can happen.
Will My Spouse Have to Pay My Debts?
You might have heard that if you get married, you become responsible for your spouse’s debts. This could be true, but only under certain circumstances.
Let’s say you live in a community property state. (There are nine: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.) And let’s say you open a credit account in your own name while you’re married. If you stop making payments, your account becomes delinquent, and your creditor is likely to send it to a collections agency. In that case, your spouse could end up on the hook for your debt.
In community property states, debts and assets that you acquire during the marriage (even if you acquire them individually) are typically considered owned by both spouses.
It’s a good idea to speak with a legal professional before getting married to work out whether a pre-nuptial agreement is a good idea, and decide what that should look like for your union.
Situations Where Your Credit Behavior Impacts Your Spouse’s Credit
Here are a few instances when you or your spouse’s bad credit can be a problem for both of you.
1. Your spouse is a cosigner and you stop paying a debt
Regardless of whether you live in a community property state, if you can’t qualify for credit on your own and your spouse serves as a cosigner, your behavior can impact their credit.
Cosigning is a financial move that shouldn’t be taken lightly by either party involved. It means signing up to be responsible for the debt if the other borrower can’t fulfill their obligation. If your spouse agrees to do this for you, thank them and take your debt seriously, so they don’t end up having to make the payments.
If you stop making payments and your spouse can’t make them either, both of your credit scores will be impacted negatively. Payment history is the most significant part of a credit score.
Lenders consider risk when you apply to borrow money, and if your credit history shows late payments and delinquent accounts, it makes you a bigger risk in their eyes. As a result, you (or your spouse, if they’ve cosigned) will likely have a harder time borrowing money—and getting a low interest rate.
2. You apply for credit jointly
If you apply with your spouse for credit (say, a mortgage), both of your credit histories are considered during the approval process. If your credit score is lower than your spouse’s and your history shows debt in collections, late or missed payments, or other bad marks, your joint application might not be approved. Or you might have to pay a higher interest rate for that mortgage.
If your spouse’s credit is significantly better than yours, you might get better terms if your spouse applies alone. Unfortunately, with a mortgage, since it is such a large loan, your spouse’s income might not be high enough to qualify the loan you need, even with good or excellent credit. In this instance, take some time to raise your credit score before applying jointly to borrow.
3. You can’t contribute to household bills, and your spouse falls behind on payments
If you lose income and can no longer help pay for household expenses, your spouse’s credit could suffer if they can’t keep up with all the bills on their own. This is due to payment history—if your spouse is late with credit card or loan bills, that impacts their credit score.
If your credit balances grow as a result of a lower household income (say, you have to put essential expenses on credit cards), that could also lead to credit score damage for whichever spouse owns the account. The second most influential factor in a credit score is amounts owed, which includes credit utilization—the amount you owe on your credit cards relative to your credit limits.
If the balance on your credit card with a $5,000 limit swells from $1,000 to $4,000 while your spouse is shouldering all the bills, your credit utilization increases from 20% to 80%. It’s best to keep this number as low as possible to avoid credit score damage.
Your Credit Score Is All Yours—But Your Debt May Still Impact Your Spouse
Your collection accounts won’t show up on your spouse’s credit report, or be reflected in their credit score (unless they are a cosigner or co-borrower).
But your credit behavior could still impact your spouse and your shared financial life. It’s a good idea to discuss your history with money before tying the knot. Make a plan to improve your financial habits together.
Author Information
Written by
Ashley Maready
Ashley is an ex-museum professional turned content writer and editor. When she changed careers, she was finally able to focus on turning her financial situation around. She went from deeply in debt to homeowner in two years. Ashley has a passion for teaching others about better living through better money management.
Reviewed by
Kimberly Rotter
Kimberly Rotter is a financial counselor and consumer credit expert who helps people with average or low incomes discover how to create wealth and opportunities. She’s a veteran writer and editor who has spent more than 30 years creating thousands of hours of educational content in every possible format.
What is considered a bad credit score?
Credit scores range between 300 and 850. A score below 600 is often regarded as bad. The higher the score, the the more likely you are to qualify for lower interest rates. That’s because a higher score indicates that you are less likely to default on a loan.
While your credit score isn't the only factor lenders consider when deciding whether to approve your loan application, it's important. Many lenders offer three or four different interest rates on the same loan, depending on your credit score.
What happens if you can't pay unsecured debt?
Unsecured debts must still be paid. Just because the lender can't take property from you for non-payment doesn't mean you just walk away. Lenders can sue you for payment and possibly garnish your paycheck or attach your bank account. They can send your account to a collections agency. They may be able to contact you often and harass you about your debt. And they can report your default and harm your credit score.
Can a wife be held responsible for a husband’s debt?
In many cases, yes. This is especially likely if the couple lived in a community property state while married or if the wife’s name is on the account.