Released: July 06, 2006

Debunking myths about couples and credit

Source: By Michelle Singletary, Syndicated Columnist [Washington Post] (Free Registration)

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.

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