Will previous bankruptcies affect me in a new marriage?

Question

My fiance and I are wondering if her two previous bankruptcies (one 9 years ago and one a year and a half ago) will effect my credit adversely, and if so are there steps that we can take to protect my credit?

Answer 1

Yes, it can and will affect your credit, but maybe not in the way you are thinking. It will not affect your individual credit reports or scores, but if you apply for something that requires (or you voluntarily give) your spouse's credit info for, then that will be taken into account.

Typically for car loans they take the worst credit and for mortgages they take an average of the two.

The steps you can take to improve are

1) stop filing bankruptcy
2) stop taking out credit you can't afford
3) stop paying things late
4) start paying off anything you currently owe so you can lower your debt to income ratio.

Answer 2

The answer is no her bankruptcies will not effect your credit unless you ask for credit jointly after you are married then her bad credit will cause you to pay a much higher interest rate.

Answer 3

YOUR credit follows you every where. I would purchase the programs Coming Back Strong Financially. They tell you how to improve your credit after a bankruptcy. How to fix your credit report and score. I use them they have improved my score to 700 and believe me I had bad credit. They have a website with the same name.

Answer 4

To be honest, it sounds like you need to protect yourself from her.
1. Pre-Nup agreement
2. No joint accounts
3. Don't give her a credit card from a joint account or any credit card at all.

Answer 5

Best bet - avoid joint accounts if you don't want her bad credit to bring you down. Keep separate charge accounts, bank accounts, etc.

Linking your credit (i.e. joint home purchase, etc) could cause your credit to be hurt by her.

You might want to consult a "credit specialist" to be sure.