Debunking Myths About Couples and Credit

Women are often told that once they get married, it's imperative that they keep credit in their own name.

By keeping a separate credit history from their husbands, they are instructed, women ensure they will remain creditworthy if they become single again.

Like the petticoat, that advice is old-fashioned.

As summer is one of the top seasons for weddings, I thought I might put to rest some misconceptions about couples and credit.

First, here are the primary reasons why a divorcing/divorced/widowed woman would have a problem with her credit history and thus with obtaining good credit scores, according to Craig Watts, the public affairs manager for Fair Isaac Corp., which created the widely used FICO credit-scoring system many lenders use to determine who receives credit and at what cost:

? She had no credit history as a single woman. If all the reported credit accounts had been in the name of only her husband, the credit-reporting agencies would have no credit history on file for her.

? She had bad credit when she was single. Negative information can remain in your credit files for up to seven years (10 years in the case of bankruptcy).

? She closes all her joint accounts. If her only credit accounts were joint accounts with her husband and she closed them all, this could create a situation where, after six months or so, her credit file might not meet the minimum requirements for calculating a FICO score, thereby making it more difficult to meet a lender's minimum qualifications for new credit, Watts said.

The minimum requirements for calculating a classic FICO score are at least one account six months old or older, at least one account that has been updated by the creditor in the past six months and no "deceased" indicator on the credit file, according to Watts.