Hopefully, you check your credit report regularly at annualcreditreport.com to make sure no one has stolen your identity and your lenders are reporting your information correctly.

But have you and your spouse both maintained individual credit activity since you’ve been married?

The Myth of Joint Credit Reports

If you and your spouse have joint accounts, actions from those accounts (both positive and negative) will appear on both of your credit reports – but there’s no such thing as a “joint” credit report.

That means that, unless you both have some individual accounts as well, problems could arise.

Why you need your own credit: When you try to open a new credit card, take out a loan, or even rent an apartment, lenders check your credit report. If you haven’t used any of your accounts in six months or so, your report will be empty and creditors will have no way to assess your risk as a borrower (which means they’re unlikely to lend to you).

Be prepared for the worst case scenario: In the unfortunate event of death or divorce, you could find yourself without an active credit history, which could translate to an inability to borrow money, rent a home, etc.

Avoid the headache: Untangling joint credit accounts after a divorce or separation can be enormously unpleasant – to tide yourself over until the loose ends are sorted, make sure you have some credit of your own.

Maintaining Active Accounts

Luckily, keeping your credit report active is fairly easy.

All you have to do is hang on to a credit card or two in your own name after you marry, and every few months charge small amounts on those cards.

Reports suggest that an account can go inactive in as little as six months, which isn’t much time considering how long it can take to build a strong credit history.

Then, when the bills arrive, pay them fully. This will ensure that you have consistent, positive actions on your credit report and, should you ever need to open a line of credit solo, you should be able to.

And, it’s important to remember to keep checking your credit score even if you are filing bankruptcy. Your credit may fully recover – or even go higher – in as few as two years.

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