Free Access To Divorce Records

How to Protect Your Credit During Divorce

Confucius say: Beware scorned spouse with shared credit.

Maybe the Chinese thinker and philosopher didn't quote those lines, but he should have. Your credit sits on dangerous ground when you and your spouse split up.

"People do unpredictable things during emotional times," says Jennifer Wallis, vice president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma.

One of her clients found out that her soon-to-be-ex-husband had ruined her credit while they were finalizing their divorce. Her husband had agreed to pay the Citi, Bank of America and Chase credit card accounts, but never did.

What's worse, the sabotage came when the wife needed to establish her own financial identity. Bad credit hurt her chances of getting good terms on credit cards, mortgages and auto loans, while landlords, utilities and insurance companies used it to establish security deposits and premiums.

"It's a bad position to be in if someone has control over your credit," Wallis says. Bankrate outlines five ways to protect credit during a divorce.

Create a Post-Divorce Budget

Don't take on more obligations than you can handle in the divorce agreement or your credit could suffer. Remember: You're moving from a dual-income household to a single-income budget, says Ann Estes, president of the Atlantic and Heartland regions for ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions.

"You need to make tough choices," she says.

Housing costs should take top consideration in your new budget. That includes a mortgage payment, along with property taxes, insurance and maintenance, or rent -- and don't forget the security deposit and renters insurance. Utilities and phone also fall under this category.

Then factor in other obligations: credit cards, auto payments, personal loans and any other insurance costs. If you find that you're close to your limit, consider what can be cut: cable, a premium cellphone plan or other luxuries.

Take Stock of Your Debts and Credit Lines

If you've been married for two decades, chances are you've forgotten about all the accounts you may share with your spouse such as an unused home equity line of credit or a Sears credit card you opened seven Christmases ago.

To jog your memory, pull your credit report to see the accounts you have. Note the ones listed as individual, joint or authorized user accounts.

An individual account in your name means you're solely responsible for the debt, unless you live in a community property state. In community property states such as Texas and Arizona, any debts acquired during the marriage and within those states are considered jointly owned. A joint account means you and your spouse share responsibility for paying off any debt on that account. An authorized user means the account is held individually by one person who allows another to use the card, but not be responsible for the balance.

Legal Self Help » Obtaining Free Or Paid Public Alabama Divorce ...

In the state of Alabama, there is an agency that is tasked with keeping and maintaining all vital records, such as the Alabama divorce records, arrest records, as well as birth and death records, from all over the state. This agency is the Alabama Center for Health Statistics, which is governed by the state’s Department of Health. The main goal of the agency is to ensure that all counties in the state of Alabama will have easy access to all the vital records in the state.

A little more than a decade ago, getting access to vital records can take several days, even weeks to process. Nowadays, however, you have a variety of options available when you wish to obtain a copy or view divorce documents. Of course there is still the so called “snail mail”, which was the conventional means of acquiring divorce papers and other vital documents in the years past. Then, there is the walk-in, which used to involve a lot of waiting not so long ago. But thanks to better streamlined records access, the waiting time has significantly decreased.

When the Internet became a common tool for accessing vital information, individuals who wish to obtain copies of divorce records and other vital documents found a new way to get them with relative ease. Like what most of you have realized by now, the Internet is a treasure chest of information, vital or otherwise. So if you have any knowledge on how to acquire the information or documents that you need online, there is no doubt that you can find them. For free, even.

Individuals who have tried requesting for copies of any public record can attest to the fact that the processing time can sometimes take too long through conventional means, especially with the postal mail service a.k.a. the snail mail. For a person who has ample time to spare, this may not be a problem. Filing a formal request to obtain copies of Alabama divorce records in person is relatively much quicker, unless of course if you live in another state which can be a problem, time-wise and money-wise.

The best way to view or gain access to vital records without any hassle is to go online. You do not have to be some sort of a computer expert to do a basic research using the Internet. One major challenge when trying to obtain divorce or arrest records online is finding the right information provider website that is as dependable as it is comprehensive. You can always go to the state agency’s official website, but there is still no guarantee that you will find what you are looking for.

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