How Can I Get Off of a Co-Signed Credit Card?

Q. I co-signed a credit card for my son when he started college. Iโ€™d like to get off of that account now. What should I do, and will it hurt his credit report? โ€” Dad

A. Many parents who co-sign a credit card for their child do so in an effort to help the child build good credit.

But itโ€™s common for the parent to later worry about their own credit score.

Thatโ€™s one of the pitfalls of co-signing, said Jeff Rossi, a certified financial planner with Peak Wealth Advisors in Holmdel, New Jersey.

โ€œAs a co-signer, you accepted full and equal responsibility for the debt under contract,โ€ Rossi said. โ€œThe account will appear on your credit history along with any late payments.โ€

He said you, in a sense, have put your good credit history in your sonโ€™s hands.

Given that youโ€™re still concerned about your sonโ€™s credit scores, Rossi said, it sounds like everything has gone fine so far, and the move probably helped his credit score.

Itโ€™s not always easy to just get removed from a co-signed credit card, Rossi said.

Thatโ€™s because the credit card provider may have required a co-signer for your son because he did not qualify for the credit card alone.

โ€œBy co-signing, you agreed to make the credit card payments if he did not,โ€ Rossi said. โ€œThe bank may still see that situation the same way, and in order to get you off of the account, you may need to shut down the account.โ€

If there isnโ€™t a balance, some credit card issuers are willing to remove your name, provided the remaining account owner has decent credit, Rossi said.

He recommends you call the card issuer โ€” or have your son call โ€” and ask if this is an option. If they oblige, thatโ€™s the best option for your sonโ€™s credit, because a longer positive history is beneficial to credit scores.

Credit scores are generally based on five different factors:

  1. Payment history
  2. Accounts owed
  3. Length of history
  4. Credit mix
  5. New credit

โ€œIf you wind up having to close the account and have your son re-establish a new account, it will definitely impact the length of history category, but the silver lining is the weighting is not as high as the first two items,โ€ Rossi said.

[Editorโ€™s note: You can see how changes in your accounts โ€” like closing a a credit card โ€” affect your credit by getting two free credit scores, updated every 14 days, on Credit.com.]

More on Credit Cards:

Image: digitalskillet

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