Getting married means sharing each other's lives and it can involve handling many responsibilities such as managing both personal finances. When it comes to handling credit, there are misconceptions about how to manage them individually or together as a couple.
Marrying your spouse with a bad credit score will not affect yours. It will not drop nor improve despite whether your spouse has a good or bad credit history. Couples or individuals will continue to have a separate credit score despite their living or legal situation (e.g common law marriage or guardianship). The only time when both partners’ credit score affects each other is when they jointly apply for a credit or loan product. If one of you has a bad credit score, there is a chance your credit/loan application will not be approved. Couples that decide to share certain financial responsibilities such as a joint auto loan require to pay it together. If one or both of them are late with their payments, both of their credit scores will be affected. In certain situations, it is best for one individual with a better credit score to pay the debt separately in order to have a better chance of a loan/credit approval or a lower interest payment.