Also a but of advice (in hindsight for the OP but useful for others) - Do not take out any debt (loans, credit agreements, higher purchases et al) in your name if they are not for you.
That's not always an option, no matter how I feel about my wife, she is going to be looking after OUR children, I'd rather the **** landed on me than them, who caused the problem is irrelevant, she has no means to sort it out.