Don’t make any decisions in your divorce without first reviewing your spouse’s credit report. If the credit report includes a lot of late or missed payments, consider whether your spouse can be relied upon to fulfill future financial responsibilities, like making monthly spousal maintenance payments or property buyout payments.

Beware assigning your ex-spouse the responsibility of paying off joint credit card debt. If they fail to make the payments, you will be on the hook with the credit card companies. Minimize exposure to your ex-spouse’s financial misdeeds by taking responsibility for paying off joint credit card debt or ensuring that all joint credit card debt gets repaid before your divorce is settled.