If you’re about to tie the knot, you may wonder what will happen to your credit cards, credit report and credit score when you become joined with your partner. It can be daunting to enter a legal marriage and risk negative impacts on your finances and credit. However, having a clear understanding of your credit as a married person will help you make informed decisions with your partner.

1. Credit Score– What happens to your credit score when you get married?Your spouses’ credit history has no impact on your credit score. Many people are worried that the bad credit score or outstanding debts of a partner will hurt their own credit score. However, your credit score is based on your personal social security number (not bank account) and will always be entirely unique to you.

Planning on opening joint accounts together? In this case, it’s important to be careful and know what you are signing up for. If your partner misuses the account, you could be liable for charges and your credit score could be negatively affected.

If your partner has poor credit, you should work together to improve it. If you’re planning to make major joint purchases in the future – such as a house – then you’ll be more likely to receive a lower interest rate on your mortgage with two strong scores.

2. Credit Report– What happens to your credit report when you change your name?After you’ve gone through the process of legally changing your name with the Social Security office, you will need to change your name on your bank and credit card accounts. Once you’ve changed your name with your lenders, your new name will be reflected when the next billing cycle starts, and you will be issued a new card.Don’t worry about reporting your name change to the credit reporting bureaus. This will happen automatically through your lenders. Your previous name will still be reported, but your new name will become the primary name.

Most credit reporting agencies list all name variations that have been reported for you over time. This makes it easier to identify red flags or errors that might come up. After you’ve changed your name, you should check your credit report frequently to catch any potential mix-ups.

3. Credit Cards– What happens to your credit cards when you get married?

Almost everything about your credit cards will remain the same once you are married. If you plan to change your name, you will need to order new credit cards updated with your new name. Sharing a last name with your partner does not automatically make them an authorized user on your account.

If you wish to add your partner as a co-signer or authorized user of your credit card, you will have to formally request this change with the creditor. You will also want to ask the credit card company if they report authorized users or co-signers to the credit report bureaus. If the co-signer is reported, whatever happens on the account will affect both your credit scores.

With many factors to consider – name changes, joint accounts, future purchases –  it’s important to be open and honest with your partner. Also, consider speaking together to a financial specialist at your bank or credit union. Congratulations on your upcoming union!