Credit Freeze - One Method for Protecting Your Credit Before and During Divorce
Credit Freeze – One Method for Protecting Your Credit Before and During Divorce
Prior to and during divorce credit cards often become a hot button issue. Though family law litigants represented by counsel likely have injunctions preventing either party from opening new accounts or spending beyond what is specifically permitted in temporary orders, that is no help to individuals going through the process pro se (without counsel).
An article in The Houston Chronicle on December 10, 2007 entitled Leaving Identity Thieves Out in the Cold, discusses new tools for combating credit fraud perpetrated by identity thieves. What if your spouse (or soon to be ex) is that “thief”?
One option is to apply for a credit freeze. A credit freeze prevents anyone from taking your social security number or other personal information and opening an account in your name. Fees to initiate a credit freeze are anywhere from $5-$10 and must be initiated with each of the three major credit bureaus (CSC, Experian, and TransUnion). If you need to “thaw” your credit to apply for a new card, car loan, home loan, refinance, etc., then you must request for a specific creditor to be able to access your credit file. This, too, may require a nominal fee.
Though a credit freeze is an effective tool to prevent identity theft, it is not for everyone. For instance, if you are starting out and establishing your credit, this is not the best option. In that situation, you might opt for a fee-based credit monitoring system where alerts are sent to you when an inquiry is made to the credit bureau.
