My sister's got a question about new marriage and credit.

[Serena]

She wants to know if her bad credit will hurt her new husband? He has very little credit at all, and it's fairly new.

She can't decide whether or not to take his name. Apparently in Chile the wives keep their names.

 

[believe]

If they are purchasing something together, her credit will effect their overall 'rating'. Credit ratings are pulled for each individual then looked at together.

 

[Jenn]

Well, I work in banking so I can try to help here. If they apply for credit together (a mortgage, a car loan, credit cards), the bank will pull both credit histories and her bad credit will impact the decision. It could result in them being declined credit jointly (even though his is good), or a higher interest rate to make up for the higher credit risk. Taking his name or not shouldn't make any difference - you can apply for credit together (or not) no matter what your names are.

His credit history won't be impacted unless they open something together and then proceed to have delinquencies with that loan/account. Just by her taking his name, his credit won't change - if that is what you are asking.

 

[Serena]

Okay, thanks both of you. I was right.