Money is the part of a divorce that keeps people awake, and your credit score is usually near the top of the list. Here is the reassuring part. The divorce itself does not damage your credit. The risky part is what happens to the accounts while the case is running, and in St. Louis County there is a court order about that which most advice on the internet does not know exists.
Does Divorce Affect Credit Score in Missouri?
No, not directly. Getting divorced is not a credit event, and there is no line on a credit report for it. What can move your score is what happens to your accounts during and after the case.
So the question worth asking is not whether the divorce hurts your credit. It is which accounts you are still attached to, and what you are allowed to do about them right now.
Why Does Your Marital Status Not Move Your Score?
Because federal law makes marital status a prohibited basis in credit decisions.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, at 15 U.S.C. 1691, says it is “unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction” on grounds that include “race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status, or age.”
What does move a score is ordinary account behaviour.
- Whether payments arrive on time, which is the heaviest factor.
- How much of your available credit you are using.
- How long your accounts have been open.
Every one of those can be affected by a divorce, which is why the score sometimes drops even though the divorce is not the cause.
Should You Close Joint Accounts During a Divorce?
Not in St. Louis County, not once a case has been filed, and not without either a court order or your spouse’s written consent.
This is where general internet advice will get you in trouble here. Closing joint accounts fast is the standard national recommendation, and in St. Louis County it runs straight into an automatic court order.
Local Rule 68.3 takes effect “upon the filing of a petition for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, annulment, declaration of paternity or child custody.” Within it, Rule 68.3.2(H) says this.
“Neither party shall cause any financial account, credit card or line of credit to be restricted, modified or closed unless ordered by the Court or unless consented to in writing by both parties.”
Read the verbs. Not just closed. **Restricted or modified too.** Asking a lender to lower a limit, freeze a card, or raise a limit on a joint account is arguably covered.
None of that means you are stuck. It means the route is different.
- Get your spouse’s written consent, which is expressly allowed by the rule.
- Or ask the court for an order, which is also expressly allowed.
- Either way, talk to your lawyer before you call the bank, not after.
Does This Order Apply Everywhere in the St. Louis Area?
No, and the difference between counties is large enough to matter.
- St. Louis County, the 21st Circuit. Rule 68.3 applies automatically on filing.
- Jefferson County, the 23rd Circuit. Its Rule 68.8 is materially similar.
- The City of St. Louis, the 22nd Circuit. No automatic order of this kind.
- St. Charles County, the 11th Circuit. Confirm the current local rules directly rather than assuming either way.
Our page on the St. Louis County Family Court covers how that court runs generally.
What Else Does the Automatic Order Restrict?
Three more things, and two of them catch people who thought they were being responsible.
Under Rule 68.3.2(F), neither party shall “close or borrow against any bank or investment account, certificate of deposit or IRA or retirement account,” nor “dissipate, sell, remove, assign, transfer, dispose of, lend, mortgage, or encumber any property of a party, real or personal, except in the ordinary course of business.”
Under Rule 68.3.2(G), neither party shall “incur extraordinary credit card or other debt except in the ordinary course of business or for the necessary expenses of the parties’ family.”
**That second one is the one people trip over.** Divorces are expensive, and putting a retainer or an expert’s fee on a credit card is a very natural thing to do. Ask first.
And under Rule 68.3.2(C), neither party shall cease paying for or cause to be terminated “any coverage for the other party or any of the parties’ minor children under any policy of health, dental, vision, automobile or disability insurance in force on the date of filing of the case.” Cancelling a spouse off the car insurance is not a neutral housekeeping step.
Does the Divorce Decree Make Your Ex Responsible to the Bank?
No. A decree allocates responsibility between the two of you. It does not change your contract with a lender who was not part of your divorce.
RSMo 452.330 directs the court to “divide the marital property and marital debts.” That division binds you and your former spouse. Your credit card company was not served, did not appear, and is not bound by it.
What that means in practice.
- If a joint card is assigned to your ex and your ex stops paying, the lender can still pursue you.
- The late payment can still land on your credit report, because your name is still on the account.
- Your remedy is back in family court against your former spouse, not against the lender.
This is why the wording of a judgment matters as much as the allocation. It is worth asking your lawyer whether your judgment should include a deadline to refinance or remove a name, and what happens if that deadline is missed. An allocation with no mechanism behind it is a promise, and promises do not remove your name from a loan. Our pages on division of property and marital versus separate property cover how debts get sorted in the first place.
What 5 Mistakes Hurt Your Credit in a Divorce?
Almost all of the real damage comes from five specific moves, and four of them feel responsible at the time.
- Closing or changing a joint account after filing. In St. Louis County that runs into Rule 68.3.2(H), and it can also look like bad faith even where no order applies.
- Assuming the decree protects you from the lender. It does not, and the discovery usually arrives as a collection call months later.
- Letting a payment slip while the case is pending. Payment history is the heaviest factor in a score, and a missed payment on a joint account lands on both reports.
- Putting legal fees on a card without checking. See Rule 68.3.2(G) on extraordinary debt.
- Not pulling your credit reports at the start of the case. You cannot protect accounts you have forgotten about, and most people have at least one.
How Do You Protect Your Credit the Right Way?
Start by finding out what you are actually on, then change nothing until you know what you are permitted to change.
- Pull your reports from all three nationwide bureaus at annualcreditreport.com and read them line by line. Bring them to your first meeting.
- Keep paying everything on time, including accounts you resent paying. That fight belongs in the case, not on your credit report.
- Ask your lawyer before touching any account. One question beforehand is cheaper than a motion afterwards.
- If accounts genuinely need separating, get consent in writing or ask the court. Both routes are written into the rule.
- Dispute errors rather than freezing over them. A freeze is the tool for suspected fraud. An inaccuracy is a dispute with the bureau.
- Ask about the mechanism in your judgment, not just who gets which debt.
How Do You Rebuild Credit After a Divorce?
With individual accounts, on-time payments and time, in that order.
Once the case is over and the restrictions are gone, the work is ordinary. Open accounts in your own name, keep balances modest against your limits, and pay on time every month. If the marriage left you with little credit history of your own, start small and let it age.
Separating accounts can dip a score briefly, because it changes how much credit you have available and how long your accounts have been open. That dip is usually the price of a cleaner position, and it recovers.
We are not going to promise you a number or a timeline. What we can tell you is that most people’s credit looks better a year after a divorce than it did in the middle of one.
Who Can Help You Sort Out Debt in a St. Louis Divorce?
The first useful step is knowing which accounts you are attached to and what the order in your county lets you do about them.
Bardol Law Firm practices only family law, and we are in the Clayton, St. Louis City, St. Charles and Jefferson County courts regularly, which means we know which automatic orders apply where. Bring your credit reports to the first meeting and we will work through the accounts with you, including telling you plainly when the answer is to leave something alone for now. Our page on Missouri divorce laws covers the wider process, and our other family law questions and answers cover what comes next.
Every client gets a named paralegal on the file, and we generally return calls within one business day. Call 314.918.0100 or reach us through our contact page. Family Law, Simplified. Fill out the form or call to set up a consultation.
This page is general information about Missouri law and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.