Whether you're getting ready to walk down the aisle or headed to Las Vegas there are certain things to keep in mind in regards to your credit to make sure it retains its integrity. Neither of these life occurrences in and of themselves will have a direct impact on your credit history or credit scores, however there are financial issues that may arise that could affect your credit.

"How is getting married going to affect my credit history?" Let's start by dispelling a myth – when you enter into marriage you do not inherit your spouse's credit. Each individual has their own separate credit file and they will always be separate even when you marry. If the person you are marrying has less than stellar credit you do not need to worry about these hiccups bleeding over to your credit unless you are added as an authorized user. Once you are married if you choose to open any joint accounts or buy a home together, those particular accounts will then show on each of your credit reports as a joint account. But any individual accounts you have now or open after you are married will show only on your credit report.

"What about my name changing? Will the credit bureaus recognize this?" It is always a good idea to notify any existing creditors if you plan to change your name so the credit history doesn't get interrupted. This is also true if you are changing your name after getting a divorce.

"I'm getting divorced. What happens with all of our joint debt and credit history?" Dealing with a divorce can be a bit more complicated. It is always best to try to separate any joint accounts before you begin the divorce process or they will continue to stay as joint accounts even after the divorce is final.

While the divorce decree may award the joint accounts to the other spouse, don't count on that to protect your credit record since any late payments or defaults will still show up on your credit report.

A good place to start.... Prior to getting married or getting a divorce it would be wise for each person to obtain individual copies of your credit reports from each bureau so you can know exactly their credit standing.

Marriage or divorce can each have its own ramifications as far as your credit is concerned, but with a little common sense and due diligence you should be able to handle either and still keep your personal credit history intact.

Lately, there have been so many of questions from borrowers and industry professionals about Credit Repair. I want to share my most recent experience and help clear the air and outline the steps involved. Credit repair companies do help raise credit scores by deleting late payments and I feel the fee charged for this is justified from the results seen. The repair companies send letters into each derogatory account letting the creditor know that the borrower is “disputing” the account and requesting late payments to be removed. Just recently a client paid for this service and when the report was pulled the accounts still showed up as disputed. This is not acceptable by lenders, hence I requested the borrower to call each creditor and ask that the “dispute” be removed from his credit report. Three of the five creditors requested a faxed letter stating the reason for the request with account number. The creditors then in return sent a letter stating that the late payments were dropped. With the letters and the help of the credit reporting agency we were able to get the “disputes” removed and help the borrower take advantage of a lower interest rate in today’s market. The whole process took about 7 months, but if the client hadn’t pursued this path and put in the time he would still be in an adjustable rate and questioning whether to sell his house or not. It is important to take care of these things right away due to the timeline and the impact a derogatory account can have on your credit score. I was happy to help and see an end result that was positive.