What happens to your credit score when you get married?

When you get married, you and your spouse will have some big financial decisions to make together, such as buying a car, buying a house, etc. 

It’s not unusual for spouses to have completely different credit scores when they get married.  So, how does one spouse’s poor score affect the other spouse’s good credit score?

One common misconception is that married couples have a joint credit score.  This is not correct.  Each of you will have an individual credit score.  The lower credit score will not affect the higher score, unless you apply for joint credit.

When you apply for credit using both of your incomes, the lender will look at both of your scores.  Most mortgage lenders will check both of your credit scores when evaluating your loan application, even if you want to apply just using the income of the spouse with the higher credit score. 

Which means that even if one spouse has excellent credit, you may have to pay a higher interest rate on your mortgage if the other spouse has poor credit.  Even worse, if the lower credit score is too bad, you may not qualify for a loan at all.

If you plan on getting married soon, or have just recently married, you should work on increasing the lower credit score so that you get the best interest rates on your mortgage, car loan, etc. 

For tips on how to boost your credit score, check out our free ecourse, Boost Your Credit Score in Five Easy Steps.

Tags: credit score, boost credit score, joint credit score