This is going to be straight to the point, because I don’t want anyone to not understand how crucial this is. After talking to many visitors of this site, I cannot believe how many of them are trying to divide up their marital debts without having a current credit report. OK guys listen up, this is like writing a book report without even having the book. How can you know for sure that all debts are being divided equally if you don’t have an official record of what those debts are? The first thing that I always recommend when talking to anyone about their divorce is that they always have their most current credit report on hand.

I am not a financial guru, but I am going to try to describe some scenarios where not knowing your current debt status can end up screwing you by the end of your divorce. One thing that happened to me (and several other people I know) is that sometime during my marriage my ex-wife took out a credit card in my name. We all know how this can happen…all it takes is some personal information which all wives usually know and a phone call or a couple searches on the internet. They get the statements delivered to them at work, and without catching them red-handed we have no way of knowing about this unless we check our credit report.

Here is another possible scenario… you insist on getting the house, and miraculously she agrees to give it to you with very little resistance, citing some common reason like how she can’t afford the mortgage payments. Now skip ahead a year after your divorce and you have finally decided to sell your house. But sometime during this process you find that there is a large lien on the home and you have no idea what it is all about. Finally, after doing some investigating (and checking your credit report) you find that your wife somehow took a loan out against the house without you knowing. Don’t worry about how she got it (how did she get that credit card in your name?), just accept that she did. But unfortunately she has been paying very little on it since you got a divorce and now you can’t sell your house without first paying off her loan. Doesn’t sound right does it, but now it is too late to do anything about it without a another lengthy court case. And how could all of this been prevented… If you would have only checked you credit report before you got divorced.

Not only does this protect yourself financially, but if you do find that she has been taking credit cards and/or loans out in your name without you knowing, it makes for some great leverage during your divorce. Identity theft is still illegal even if you are married, you just have to prove that you didn’t know anything about it (ie. She has the credit card statements sent to her work). I am not talking about blackmail here, I am talking about leverage. Sure there is a fine line between the two, but leverage is used all the time during divorce proceedings. Especially when your two divorce attorneys are negotiating the terms of your of the divorce settlement.

And here is another quick recommendation. Invest in some credit monitoring while you are going through your divorce. That way if your soon to be ex-wife tries to pull something off at the last minute, you will be notified immediately. A credit monitoring program can be very inexpensive, but could really pay off in the long run. Remember, don’t tell your wife about it. There is some satisfaction in knowing that you are protected and catching her red-handed. It is a real confidence boost.

As you probably guessed, eventually under the guidance of my divorce attorney I did just what I have been talking to you about. It was simple. I went to creditreport.com and signed up. They gave me everything… my credit report, my credit score, & a really good credit monitoring service (sends you email alerts when anythings changes on your credit report). If your skeptical you can get your credit score, and try the monitoring service free for 7 days. But I highly recommend that you keep it for a couple of months so that you will know if she tries to pull something. It’s inexpensive and you can subscribe by the month, instead of by the year like most other services do.

Ultimately, you have to make the decision here. But if anyone asks me, I always tell them to “get your credit report“. To me this is just as important as getting a divorce attorney and showing up to court when your supposed to.