A destructive force that tends to lead married couples in New Jersey towards divorce is financial problems. Such problems can result from a variety of reasons. Among these reasons are significant debt, poor money management skills or simply the failure to make payments on time.

If this is the case before entering into marriage, then one spouse's poor credit rating will naturally affect the other spouse, especially once joint accounts are opened and mortgages or other such loan agreements are entered into.

When parties with poor credit ratings divorce, credit scores may continue to be negatively affected. Unfortunately, this can also be the case for divorcing parties who previously did not have credit problems. This may be because one spouse simply fails to make payments that he or she agreed to make, either on purpose or unintentionally.

In any event, what should someone do after a divorce to get back on the right track credit-wise? One option may be to open a secured credit card account. Such accounts are opened by depositing money into an account, maintaining a low balance and making payments on time. Doing so can help to rebuild credit after a divorce.

Also, it will help to make timely payments on all accounts. This is a good idea for anyone trying to rebuild their credit if it has suffered as a result of divorce or a poor money manager during the marriage. In fact, 35 percent of an individual's credit score is based on payment history. This means that making payments on time can go a long way towards repairing a credit score over time, even after a financially difficult marriage and divorce.

Source: Fox Business, "Square one: how to build credit after divorce," Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, Jan. 24, 2012