Heroes in Business - Experian Identity Report with Rod Griffin, Lifes Big Moments Getting Married

Episode Date: April 29, 2023

Experian Identity Report with Rod Griffin, Lifes Big Moments Getting Married. Rod Griffin is the Sr Director of Public Education for Experian. Extremely valuable information for making sure you know what to do when getting married. Listen as David Cogan, Host of the Heroes Show and Founder of Eliances entrepreneur community. 

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Eliance's Heroes. Eliance's is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups, where our heroes in business align. Now, here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. Oh, we got a wealth of information to share with you today, so make sure you stay tuned through the entire interview. This one is life's big moments, getting married, because it's that time. Time again for the Experian Identity Report. And we're speaking with Senior Director of Public Education for Experian, Rod Griffin. Now, Rod leads Experian's National Consumer Education Program

and works with consumer advocates and financial educators to help consumers increase their ability to understand and manage their personal finances and protect themselves from fraud and identity theft. So, Rod, every time we talk, I mean, people are glued to either whether they're watching on video or listening on audio because what you're teaching and showing us happens. It's either happened to them or they know someone it's happened to, so we need to be educated. So over the next several interviews, we'll be talking with you about how people can better prepare for life's big moments by managing their identities. So let's get into it. What should you do if you're getting married? What documents need to be updated?

And one of the most joyous life events, I think, of all. And we hope anyway. And it was mine. And we're still married after 20, almost 25 years. So we're doing all right. And just about every document needs to be updated is the answer to that question. When you get married, you are joining your lives. The good news is perhaps that your credit reports aren't merged, but they can be affected. And so other elements of your financial life will be as well. So there are a lot of people who need to notify, a lot of people you'll need to talk to and share documentation with to make sure that your life and your new spouse are joined as you want them to be.

It doesn't mean everything is, though. So you might not have joint accounts. You might have some individual accounts. Your lenders need to know what your new life status is. Well, I would assume, though, that people really, they know to take care of some of the big items but probably forget about other documents that are still listed in their previous names, right?

So what are the most common documents that people often forget about? So start with a marriage certificate. You'll need to have that new document. You'll want to update the Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, about your driver's license. If you're changing your name, you'll want to notify all of your lenders of a name change. When you do that, they will update their records and they will report that to Experian and the other credit bureaus. So you don't necessarily have to contact the credit bureaus to have your name updated. That should happen automatically.

The other thing to think about with lenders is are you joining accounts? Are you becoming a joint account holder or are you maintaining separate accounts? And so if you were maintaining separate accounts, that can be a good thing. That can mean that the accounts you had before marriage are still there to work for you. You will still always have a separate credit report, even though you're married. Both of you have in our system separate credit reports. So you need to make sure those names are updated. You might want to talk to the, if you're updating wills, for example, so legal departments, estate planners, licensing organizations, if you had a name change, whether it's something like a business license or professional license of some sort. You might need a name change and a new license updated.

So there are a number of agencies you need to think about in terms of who to talk to to make sure that things are now accurate. That's a lot to do. It's a lot. Yeah. And so definitely make sure that you do that. And you know what also you should make sure you do? Continue watching, listen to me, David Kogan, host of the Alliances Hero Show.

That's right. Make sure you go to alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. Simply click on the radio section there and you can hear and listen to past interviews, including with the weekly identity report that we have with Experian, E-X-P-E-R-I-A-N.com. All right. So should people also to review their credit scores after they get married? And if so, why?

How is that affected? And what if someone's got super and the other one's got the worst? And where does that leave us? Sure. And we can go back to dating before marriage. We always talk about when should you review your credit report. I think that conversation starts early after your marriage certainly should look at your report to make sure that everything is reported accurately. You might give it a few months if you've, again, changed your name and updated things to make sure

all of your lender's records are updated. Use your report to make sure that information is now reporting accurately. One. Two, if you're planning to make a major purchase, like buy a home together, they're going to look at both credit reports. So it's important that you are taking care of them. Just because one spouse or the other may not have a great credit history or might not have good credit scores, doesn't mean you shouldn't marry them, but it should be part of your plan to work together to improve that credit history so that when you make those major purchases in the future, both reports are there to work for

you. When you buy a house, you're going to look at both credit reports. You're going to need to know that you both have good credit history. So absolutely share that information. Make sure your finances are on the table. It helps you set a plan and goals for your future as a couple in terms of your finances. So absolutely share the information and work together toward a very bright financial future. So who would have thought, make sure, preferably before you get married, see the other person's credit report and never know, may give you a better insight into what's going on too. So what else should people be doing? You know, you need to notify. We talked about some of the documentation,

some other things you might think about. Do you have online memberships with organizations or shopping or those sorts of things? Do you have shopping club memberships that you want to add your spouse to and do you need to change your name there? So anywhere we go today, just about, we're sharing identity information. You need to make sure that it's updated, that it's accurate, that it's secure. Again, enrolling in a monitoring service can help. That can help you ensure that you are getting credit and getting protected from misuse of identity. Another thing to consider if you're married and you're working on improving scores, think about adding your utility services or your streaming services or your cell phone services to your credit report through Experian Boost. That can help boost your credit score. So I help give

you that lift if you need it. And you can learn how to do that at Experian.com slash boost. Really simple to do. So work together to make sure that your information is safe and that it's working for you. Rod, this is excellent information. So anything else we should consider when we go to Experian.com of any other tools or where we should start? Yeah. So I mentioned Experian Boost. And if you're just starting out, if you're getting married, you probably have an existing credit history. If not, we have a service called Experian Go

and you enroll in our cell phone app, our mobile app. And if you don't have our history, we can help you create one. So it's there to start working for you toward those goals. And use the education resources that are there. We have a lot of free information about what you need to think about when you get married, what you need to do.

And easier to see that list and read it than to listen to me try to remember all of the things I need to tell you. So because there is a lot. Excellent. Excellent. So because there is a law. Excellent. Excellent. Well, this has been, again, the Experian Identity Report with Rod Griffin, Senior Director of Public Education for Experian. Make sure that you go to Experian.com. Don't wait.

E-X-P-E-R-I-A-N.com. They have a ton of tools that you will need to use because, again, you've been watching and listening to me. It's been an honor again, Rod, having you on. Make sure that you go to All use. Because again, you've been watching and listening to me. It's been an honor again, Rod, having you on. Make sure that you go to alliances.com also. E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com, the only place where entrepreneurs align, that's right. And you can check out past identity reports with Experian. By clicking on that, check out the Experian.

Thank you so much again, Rod. Always an honor to have you here with us. Always glad to be here. Thanks, David.