Short Answer: Generally, your spouse or soon to be spouse will not be impacted by your filing bankruptcy.

This is a topic that often comes up during a consultation with prospective clients. Let me start by saying there?s no such thing as a joint credit report or a joint credit score. Everyone has his or her own, and they aren?t combined when you marry. Having said this, your bankruptcy will not affect your future spouse?s credit scores. If your future spouse has not co-signed on any loans with you, then your bankruptcy will not affect him or her in any way.

While your bankruptcy doesn?t affect your future spouse directly, it could affect your ability to get joint loans in the future should you decide to purchase a house, car, etc. The person who filed bankruptcy’s credit could make it more difficult to get approved for the joint loans and could trigger a higher interest rate.

If you?re concerned that once you get married, your spouse will then become responsible for your debts don?t be! Your debts are YOUR debts. If you file bankruptcy and receive a discharge, most, if not all, of your debts will be eliminated. Your future spouse will not be liable to pay those debts.

The Bottom Line: One person filing bankruptcy does not directly hurt the credit of a spouse or future spouse. Nor will your spouse be responsible for the non-joint debts. However, when you file bankruptcy it will be more difficult to initially obtain good interest rates and this could have an impact on getting joint loans.