When you get married, everything gets combined, right? Not exactly. You and your spouse will continue to have your own separate credit reports and credit scores, but their credit rating can still impact your finances. 

Credit and finances aren’t the most romantic topics to be concerned with during wedding plans, but they are necessary grounds to cover. Before you walk down the aisle, you and your partner should know how your credit scores might impact the other. 

How Does Marriage Affect Credit?

Marriage changes many aspects of your life, but your credit isn’t inherently one of them. The major credit bureaus don’t record your marital status or use it as part of their credit scoring system. To debunk a few credit and marriage myths, here are some things to be aware of:

• Your credit score won’t combine with your partner’s
• Taking your spouse’s last name won’t erase your previous credit history
• A partner with bad credit doesn’t automatically impact a partner with good credit

In fact, marriage doesn’t impact your credit at all in most cases. You and your spouse will retain separate individual credit scores and credit reports. Your credit history will look the same on the day before your wedding and the day after. Your partner’s credit score will be the same too.

Things only start to change when you apply for joint credit together. That could be in the form of a joint credit card, a mortgage, or a car loan. Essentially, anything that requires inquiries on both of your credit reports. 

That’s when the payment history, balances, and credit utilization for that joint account will affect both spouses’ credit. 

Will Changing Your Name Affect Your Credit Report?

Your credit report is tied to your Social Security number, so changing your name doesn’t affect your credit report. 

This is true whether you take your partner’s last name, you choose to hyphenate it, or you both choose to hyphenate your last names. Your credit history will remain unchanged.

After you tie the knot, you won’t have to tell the credit bureaus about the change. Instead, you should notify the Social Security Administration, and your current lenders, banks, and creditors of your name change. They’ll report to the credit bureaus for you. 

Once your creditors start reporting activity to the credit bureaus under your new name, your previous name then becomes an alias on your credit report. Within a few months, everything should be updated with each of your creditors and the credit bureaus. 

To be sure the change has gone smoothly, check your credit report to confirm that all of your creditors are reporting under your new name.

What If Your Spouse Has A Bad Credit Score?

When your spouse has a bad credit score, it doesn’t automatically impact your credit score since your credit reports are separate. However, it can impact your household’s finances. 

Bad credit can have many origins that aren’t necessarily due to a lack of financial responsibility. It could be a stretch of unemployment that put them behind on bills, a series of mistakes in their youth, or even identity theft that they’re working to have repaired. 

According to recent credit score statistics, your partner’s credit score might also be impacted by their income level. No matter the reason, it’s important to have a constructive conversation with your future spouse about credit, finances, and spending habits before the big day. 

If they have a lot of credit card debt, student loans, or other obligations, it may mean less money in the budget for joint financial goals. The combination of bad credit and excess debt can signal financial troubles down the line. 

If you plan on applying for joint credit accounts together, then their poor credit score could result in a higher interest rate on joint loans and credit cards. It might also make it harder to qualify for accounts in general, even if one partner has a good credit score. 

This is especially true if you’re looking to buy a home together. One person’s bad credit score might impact the loan amount you qualify for and the interest rate you’ll be paying. Get the best possible rate on your dream home together by improving your credit score to buy a home.

Can You Raise Your Credit Score With Help From Your Spouse?

Your spouse can help you with many things and raising your credit score is one of them. If your spouse has a higher credit score than the two of you, then they might be able to help you raise your score in two different ways. 

The first way they can help is by adding you as an authorized user to their credit card account. This lets you piggyback off of their good credit history to improve your score. By adding you as an authorized user, their established credit card and all its history will show on your credit report. 

The second way they can help is by partnering with you to achieve your credit goals. If you’re lacking in credit knowledge they can introduce you to some credit 101 resources. They can share their credit management tactics, and be a support in achieving your financial goals. 

Work together to nail down the priorities to focus on in order to raise your credit score. It can start with checking your credit scores together, or making a goal to get your credit card balance below 10% utilization. 

Either way, your spouse can be supportive by holding you accountable and helping you build healthier habits with your credit. 

Do You Share Debt When You Get Married?

Although you’re married, you don’t have to share debts. Many newlyweds are under the impression that since they’ve said “I do” they have to apply for all their credit together or that all of their debt combines onto one credit report. That’s not the case at all. 

Any debts you had before you got married continue to be your individual responsibility after marriage. And while you can apply for joint accounts as a married couple, you don’t have to apply for everything jointly. 

When you take on joint debt, different rules apply depending on which state you live in. Certain states abide by “community property” rules. This means both spouses are equally responsible for all of the debts and assets that were acquired throughout the marriage. 

In unfortunate situations, this can even mean that a spouse is responsible for debts and liabilities that the other spouse made without their knowledge. The states that follow this include:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Idaho
• Louisiana
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Texas
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Before you get married, it’s best to familiarize yourself with the laws in your state so you can avoid a potentially negative situation. 

Should You Merge Your Credit Accounts?

Merging your credit accounts is more of a personal choice, not a requirement. Many married couples never merge their credit accounts and choose to keep everything separate. Others only merge some credit accounts based on their priorities and financial goals. 

Merging accounts is beneficial for tax purposes and bookkeeping, but you should consider other aspects before making a final decision. 

When combining finances, you should be mindful that your joint accounts fall under both people’s responsibility. That includes any debt incurred under those accounts. Both of you are also responsible for maintaining good payment history on any joint accounts. 

Late payments or missed payments will do serious damage to both partners’ credit scores. If a payment is missed on a joint debt, it will make it much harder for both spouses to qualify for loans and credit cards in the future. 

Overall, being in a committed relationship requires a healthy conversation about finances and credit. Even though your spouse’s score won’t inherently affect your credit score, it still impacts your ability to qualify for joint accounts, and the interest rate you’ll pay on that debt. 
It also affects the household finances altogether. You don’t have to combine all of your finances and apply for all of your credit jointly. In some states, it can’t be helped. If you have the chance to avoid it, keeping some individual accounts might benefit you both in the long run.

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