Do you have another person in your family's credit relationship -- maybe even an ex-spouse? That could spell trouble, particularly these days.

Banks, seeking to collect on outstanding loans, will go after any person whose name is jointly on a credit card or loan regardless of whether you're divorced.

"Sometimes there are joint accounts, and people don't remember they had joint accounts," warned Adam Levin, chairman of Credit.com of San Francisco. "You never want a surprise."

Just because you've disposed of the physical credit card doesn't necessarily mean an account is closed either. You may need to notify your bank in writing to close it.

A fair question for entering into a second marriage, particularly if there is no prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, is: "Is there anything I need to know about your former financial relationship with your former spouse?"

Even better: Consider reviewing credit reports together. You can do this for free at www.annualcreditreport.com.

If there are joint accounts that remain open, a person whose name is on the account can write the bank and ask that the account be closed. Or, at the very least, the letter can request that a name be taken off the account.

However, Mr. Levin warns that every time you close an account, it reduces your available credit -- a factor that may hurt your credit score. Fair Isaac Corp., creator of the popular "FICO" score, sets 850 as its highest score. The "credit utilization" ratio is one factor in FICO's "amounts owed" calculation, which comprises about 30 percent of your credit score.

So if you think you might need a mortgage or other loan, you may need to weigh the potential of an ex-spouse running up your credit card bill vs. a possible decline in your credit score.

Do you understand the difference between joint accounts and "user" accounts?

With a joint account, you're liable for all the debt even if the joint account-holder was the one who ran it up. If you're an account "user," you're not liable for the debt. Only the primary account-holder is.

You may want a joint account if you think you might both need to build your credit histories to buy a house, for example. On the other hand, being a "user" may or may not be heavily considered by banks if you're trying to build your credit.

One potential downside to being a user is that privacy laws often prevent the card issuer from talking to "users" attempting to straighten out a mistake on a spouse's account.

Spouses Gail Liberman and Alan Lavine are syndicated columnists. Their latest book is "Quick Steps to Financial Stability" (Que/Penguin). You can contact them at www.moneycouple.com.