What happens to debt when you get married?

This article has been updated from a previous version.

Just as love is a part of life, so is debt. While most of the time, especially the early part of a budding romance, you can keep the two separate. But eventually they come together in some way - one or both partners might be carrying individual student loans, credit card debt, a line of credit into this shared life together.

And moving forward, couples may decide to take on anything from a joint credit card, an auto loan, or a mortgage, or all three.

Before tying the knot, learn how past debt impacts your future debt – and hopefully, you won’t let debt do you part.

Pre-existing debt

The good news is that you won't be held liable for any pre-existing debt that your partner brings with them to the marriage or partnership. Unless you co-signed for the loan or credit card, pre-existing debt is seen as entirely your partner’s responsibility.

Related: Merging finances with your partner? Here's what to know

Student loan debt

Student loan debt remains the responsibility of the borrower even after you’re married, but marriage or common law status might affect not just the repayment of your student loans, but your ability to take out new student loans.

If one or both partners are applying for repayment assistance, their spouse or common-law partner’s income must be reported. This income will be factored into the payment calculation and will likely increase the borrower’s monthly payment.

A spouse or common-law spouse’s income must also be reported if one spouse is returning to school and is applying for new student loans. This can often make a student ineligible for student loans. Many people don’t realize that when it comes to Canada Student Loans, it’s the federal definition of common law that applies, meaning, couples who have lived together for one year are considered spouses.

This is different than the provinces and territories that generally only consider a couple common law if they’ve lived together for two years or live together for one year and have a child together.

Mortgages and credit scores

It's important before you get married that you talk to your partner about your credit scores.

If you're hoping to purchase a house and one of you has bad credit, this will greatly impact your ability to get a mortgage, as well as your mortgage rate. If you or your partner have a low credit score, then you might not be able to get a mortgage by applying together.

That means that one of you would have to apply for the mortgage alone using only the sole applicant’s income to determine how much large of a mortgage you qualify for. Even if the partner with a bad credit score is approved by the bank as a joint borrower, their low credit score might greatly increase the interest rate the bank charges on the mortgage, leading to higher monthly payments.

This might mean that you won’t be able to afford to buy a home until you or your partner improves your credit score or one of you will have to apply for the mortgage on your own.

Read more: Mortgage up for renewal? Check your credit score for a better rate

Be careful about adding a spouse as a cardholder

If your partner doesn’t have great credit, don’t let them add you as a cardholder on any of their accounts.

While it might seem easier to manage your bills with one credit card, their account will be added to your credit report when you’re added as an authorized user. That means if they haven’t used the account responsibly, it could affect your credit score.

On the flip side, if they have been responsible with the account and have a good credit score this could potentially boost your credit score.

If you have a good credit score and want to help your partner improve theirs, it might make sense to add them as an authorized user on one of your credit cards. However, you should not do this if you don’t trust that they can use the card responsibly.

You will be solely responsible for any debt that they accumulate while using this card and if you can’t pay off their purchases right away, this could impact your credit rating.

Joint credit cards

The benefit of using a joint or co-signed credit card account instead of adding your spouse as an authorized user is that they are liable for half of the charges on a joint account whereas only the original borrower is liable on a card with an authorized user. However, if one spouse has bad credit, taking out a joint credit card can greatly increase the interest rate.

Before you get married, it's important that you talk to your partner about debt.

Find out how much they currently owe and tell them how much you owe. It's also essential to talk about your attitudes towards taking on different kinds of debt and paying off different kinds of debt.

If one of you believe that you should avoid credit card debt entirely and the other partner believes that credit card that is just a part of life, then you might have to carefully navigate how you assume debt during your married life.

Read next: Why life insurance should be part of estate planning for new parents