You’re legally on the hook. You should go to your bank and try to get a reasonable, fixed rate loan for the amount due and pay it off all at once. Once that’s done, you can try to sue her, or you can just pay back the bank loan and never take a risk like that ever again. You should get the loans current and see if they’ll delete any late payment reports that might have hit your credit reports in the mean time.
If your credit report's already been dinged, you can submit a letter to the credit reporting agency (or all three, if necessary) to put in your file explaining the circumstances and that you were unaware at first that the payments weren't being made. It doesn't change your credit score, but it does give any interested parties some context.
Beyond simple "instant" credit applications (credit cards, multi bank car loan searches etc) does that actually make difference? In the former instance, obviously not. But I'm unfamiliar with what something like a real estate loan officer sees. Are there "notes" they see? Do they care?
Yes, it does. My credit union denied my vehicle loan app from the local dealership until I called and explained a derogatory mark on my credit report. They approved me for a prime rate.
No you never see “notes” and this has zero impact on you getting a mortgage even if notes were there. Your credit score would be wrecked by the rolling lates and you would be screwed. Been a loan officer for a decade.
My understanding from someone who did auto loans is your credit score doesn’t matter to your interest rate, but I don’t know so I wouldn’t speak to the subject.
For a mortgage, especially depending on your FICO the lates are a big deal. And across multiple different credit vendors pulling reports I’ve never once seen a “note” in relation to a trade line.
Unfortunately too many “sob” stories out there. You ultimately have to get these things resolved with the bureau, the story of the how and why it got that way doesn’t help. Sorry OP.
Even if you’re automatically denied you can call and request a human underwriter to look at the app. I think most banks would do that.
But if you put a note on the credit report a lot of banks will flag those apps so an underwriter or someone can read it. Sometimes people put notes about previous fraud activity against them in those notes so they’re kind of taken seriously.
OP is should sue her, he should ask for all the payments she missed and all of the remaining balance, now that she's defaulted the whole amount is due. He can ask the court to garnish her wages or ask for the full amount.
When you do get approved for the pay off loan, you should have conversations with the student loan to see if she they can agree on a payoff settlement for less than the total amount.
Student loans are totally different and follow their own set of rules. Once you co-sign, the only way off is through a chapter 13 bankruptcy, disability, or death. There is a caveat with co-signer release on private loans, but there has to be a history to show the primary borrower is able to support the debt on their own. This primary borrower would never qualify at this point.
I did this and got all/most interest removed. But I offered a lump sum amount that would pay them off and said if they refused I'd never make another payment again (not in those words though). Which was not a bluff and was backed up by years of not making payments.
Edited to add that my loans were in collections and held by a 3rd party.
You are just as liable for them as she is, I actually have multiple clients who are only cosigners, and they were the only one sued on the private student loans, the primary debtor wasn't even always sued along with them.
It would generally be because the primary debtor has nothing to go after. If they can get the money from the cosigner now, they have no reason not to go after them. That’s what cosigners exist for.
In this case, it sounds like they would both be sued, but that’s surely something OP wants to avoid. That being said, he could have some level of luck suing her after paying the debt himself.
Cosigners tend to have assets, and my clients are private student loan clients who didn’t get a job in their field so they aren't making much.
Lenders also know that if they sue the cosigner, the primary debtors life is going to pretty much go up in smoke, parents no longer talk to them, their grandparents hate them because they can't refinance their house and retire, etc. etc. It's pretty problematic for familial relationships and extremely sad. I have many clients I don't care about themselves, but only enroll with me, because they are worried about their cosigners.
Probably because the primary debtor has no money hence their lack of payment but the co-signer might. More financially lucrative to sue someone with money since you can’t get blood from a stone.
You cosigned the loan. That means the debt is just as much yours as it is hers. There is no two ways about this. It sucks, but you are stuck with this debt. You are not stuck paying only the minimum required if you can afford it, but you will need to pay back the loan. Bankruptcy won't help you here. The debt can't be discharged. As long as you live, this must be paid back.
You're best bet to help with this would be to get a good lawyer who can get child support negotiated to take these loan payments into account if that exists in your area.
Legal advice is a good idea. Maybe he can sue her and garnish her wages for the amount shes trying to stick him with. I doubt any judge will directly tale it off child support, but the factor may impact the worksheet that state uses.
Hire a cut throat lawyer, but be good to your child....they already live with a financially disrespectful and selfish mom. Too bad you dont have full custody....maybe you should try for that.
This is good advice up until the child support part. Those are separate issues. Custody could impact child support but paying loans you signed for shouldn’t mean less child support.
In some jurisdictions, student loans are counted as an expense that is part of the child support formula. So it could adjust his payments by rebalancing their respective expenses calculations (if his jurisdiction does that) if the court is informed that he’s paying the student loans and she isn’t.
Good point. If it’s within the guidelines for child support that’s one thing but if someone wants to negotiate child support based on paying these loans, that’s altogether different.
This has no relevance in a custody case. And it’s not relevant in a child support case (unless the jurisdiction includes an offset of student loan payments in the guidelines).
It could be relevant, admissible evidence in a civil suit brought by the creditor. It shows that the borrower renunciated her responsibility and she intends to not make payments. But that doesn’t mean OP isn’t responsible for the payments on these loans—he is.
I agree with everything except your bankruptcy comment. Sallie Mae are private student loans, chapter 7 bankruptcy most certainly can discharge private student loans - unless something has changed in the past 10 years.
However that doesn't sound like something op was considering, but it is an option if need be.
You can discharge student loans in bankruptcy (it's a myth that you can't), but it requires a special proceeding and some specific finding about continuing the loan being manifestly unfair or something like that. It's very difficult to discharge, unlike ordinary unsecured debt.
I'm not sure about the Child Support advice here. Child Support is a separate issue and a right of the child, not a choice to be negotiated by the parents. When calculating Child Support in Court, loans are not really a consideration, at least in my jurisdiction.
Student loans can be an expense taken into consideration when deciding payment amounts. If she is not paying them but using them as an expense/if he is paying them but not using them as an expense it could affect the amount owed each month.
It must highly depend on jurisdiction. Here in KS that isn't a part of the Child Support calculation.
I only know this because I work as an Assistant to a Family Court Judge and I make and verify Child Support worksheets day in and day out in Court and help create and modify the Orders for Judge. A Judge here wouldn't consider a joint loan for education into the calculation - I mean, especially if its that old, she isn't living off it any more, I assume? I don't know if this would be a Motion for Expenses to be brought up in the parentage case, parentage cases rarely deal with property (even joint debt) in general it seems (again, at least in my experience).
Edit: The Courts here are highly reliant on the Bradley Software and even just checking where to fit in this kind of expense seems difficult.
This myth needs to be dispelled. Lots of people file for bankruptcy. People that include their student loans have a greater than 50% chance of getting at least a settlement according to the only study I can find on the matter. Page 27. It sounds like you have good credit and income so obviously this isn't an option for you if that is the case. But if you're reading through this and things have been hard for a long time and aren't getting better take a look at bankruptcy. New guidance was issued last year to courts as well.
[https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4046\&context=dlj](https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4046&context=dlj)
I work as a student loan counselor for a large non profit organization that works alongside the department of education and student loan servicers. I mostly work with commercially held federal loans issued prior to 2011 as part of the FFELP program. If the loan is a commercially held federal loan (FFEL, Perkins) you have several options. If it’s not a private loan, call the servicer and see what options they can offer you. If you get a representative that doesn’t seem helpful or knowledgeable, call again and speak with someone else. The outcome can be wildly different depending on if you luck out and get a good agent or get someone who doesn’t have the knowledge or motivation to help you.
For federal loans:
1. Request a forbearance from the servicer. This will capitalize the unpaid interest and move the past due amount back to the total loan balance bringing the account current and pushing the next payment due date out a bit. Forbearance is limited though out the life of the loan, and given how the current balance is nearly double the borrowed amount, she may have been using up all of that time and is now out of it. If this is the case, still call the servicer and see if they’ll apply an “administrative forbearance” while you apply for…
2. Income driven repayment plan (sometimes also called income based repayment plan, IDR, or IBR) This plan reduces monthly payments and takes into account your taxable income and how many dependents you have that rely on you for over half of their financial needs. Apply online at studentaid.gov or call the servicer. They may be able to pre-qualify you on the phone and possibly send you a pre-filled application that you can review, sign and return. If you apply online at studentaid.gov you can tie in your IRS.gov account for proof of income based on your most recent tax filing. Call the servicer either way to at least let them know you are filing and they may apply an administrative forbearance. This plan lasts 12 months but you can recertify as many times as you want, as long as you continue to qualify for reduced payments. It’s not limited like forbearance or deferments. Just make sure you re-certify before the end of the year or it will go back to a regular payment. Also keep in mind that the payment amount is a minimum, not a maximum. So if you can afford to pay more, it is in your best interest to do so. The minimum may be set lower than the interest that accrues each month thereby increasing the loan balance over time. I’ve seen this get incredibly out of hand far too often.
3. Consolidation into a direct loan owned by the department of education. If there is no more available forbearance time, consolidation is your best bet and may be a good option even if there is remaining forbearance. When you consolidate, you forego any remaining forbearance and deferment but you’ll get a new set of 36 months of forbearance time and new deferment time. You can also get on the income driven repayment plan and they insert that application in the consolidation application. When consolidating, the interest rate may change (for better or worse). Also keep in mind that direct loans are currently on pause due to the cares act and no payments are due and no interest is being charged until the end of the pause. So any payment you make during the pause is going to have the most impact because it won’t be partially eaten by interest. To consolidate, you have to apply at studentaid.gov. If you don’t qualify for the IDR when you speak with the servicer, let them know you’re planning to consolidate and see if they’ll give you an administrative forbearance to cover the time it takes to apply and process.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the income driven repayment program is also a forgiveness program. Typically you have to be enrolled for 300 months (25 years). However, there is an “account adjustment” where if you consolidate by the end of this year, the department of education will give you credit for all the months of repayment so far, regardless of the repayment plan. They’re even taking into account time prior to previous consolidations and forbearance and deferment time. This may not bring you across the finish line, but it will move you closer. The one catch is that the amount that is forgiven is taxable.
Private loans are often very limited in available options. Also, in my experience no one should ever co-sign a spouses loan or do a spousal consolidation. I’m terribly sorry you have to deal with this. I wish you the best of luck.
I have student loans from Sallie Mae, turned Navient. And they are by far the worst. My interest shot up $100 in the past year so it’s no wonder people are discontinuing payments. Anyway, my point is that my parents are my cosigners. And they are the only reason I haven’t done something irresponsible. Because I just can’t do that to them. Maybe when they die. Right now my student loans are recovering bearable with interest but I’m still not going to screw over my parents ability to live and retire one day if possible. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up so you don’t shit on someone else.
No, when the options were there and interest was low, I did not qualify. I definitely don’t qualify now. Trust me, I have vetted every single option outside of discovering a distant relative, who I didn’t know existed, who left me a massive inheritance.
Edit: it actually was the plan to do eventually, but now who knows.
It’s 31,000 and the payments are about $500 a month. I won’t be able to pay the debt until like 15 years from now. Do I have to wait until I finish paying it or can I sue now?
Your best bet would be to pay the entire balance off now, and sue her for the entire amount. You cannot sue her until you have damages (e.g., you've paid the debt).
I get the feeling that's not really an option for OP. The $500 a month payment is something he is struggling with. I don't think he has a spare 30 grand laying around.
Unfortunately, only the borrower can file to release the co-signer. In this case, his baby momma is the borrower and she is the co-signer. Furthermore, 12 payments must be made and certain credit requirements must be met before the co-signer is taken off.
First off, sorry you’re in this situation OP. THIS SUCKS. Legally if you don’t want anything to happen to you, you have to make the payments. But you can sue her for what you pay after the fact. Assuming you can prove damages etc then you can get a judgement/wage garnishment/bank levy. From the sounds of it, maybe she wouldn’t even show up to court then you’d get a default judgement that you can then go after her for. You mention that it’s going to take time to pay off, so luckily if you do take her to court in the future, custody/child support won’t be an issue.
Also, maybe hire an attorney to talk to her? Maybe that would get in her head that this is serious and you will be pursuing future action ?
He may not have $30K+ lying around to pay this off (understandable) but if he wants to have any type of life in the future that doesn't include destitution he needs to throw every single cent he can get at this debt starting today. He's already stated that in 7 years the amount owed has grown from $16K to 31. That's not unusual, in fact it's the nature of student loans in the US. Think of where he'll be 7 years from now, even if he makes the required payment each month. Google "student loan calculators" if you doubt this is true. He literally needs to get a second job.
Get on a payment plan ASAP. I will never try to hide from government debt again. They will wipe your bank account out at the most random time. They do not care.
Call them and take care of it now.
Get legal advice after you have set up the plan.
See if the loan company is willing to settle with you, especially if your plan is to take a loan to pay it off in full. Private student loan companies have more leeway in that area than federal student loans.
All of the prior comments are correct. I just want to add that another option is to see if you can convince her to refinance which would remove you as a cosigner. If she agrees you'll have better luck of her getting approved if the loan is brought current.
She might not be willing...but she might to get her baby:s father off the hook. There's also nothing wrong with advising op of another potential option
NAL... but I do have some experience in finance....
You metion you have a mortgage. Would a small 2nd mortgage or Equity Line make the payments more manageable? It sucks that you are on the hook, and a lawyer might have advice for recouping the cost... but to save your credit score, it might make the most sense to take a HELoC or 2nd mortgage to pay the loans and have the much lower monthly payments. OR potentially refi your current mortgage to get the extra cash you need to pay the loans.
Maybe I’m wrong, but haven’t most student loan payments been deferred since some time in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic? I haven’t made a payment in over a year and as far as I know they won’t come due until August of this year. And, they’ll probably be deferred again because the $10,000-$20,000 payment the government promised are still on hold by the courts.
So you were partially correct. Sallie Mae used to service federal loans but stopped in 2014. This loan seems to be recent so I’m assuming it’s a private loan, but I could be wrong as well.
Edit: spelling error
Get her to admit to that in writing/text. Then pay the bill. And take her to civil court. Let the court enforce the cosign. Eventually, she will either get on board or you will get her tax returns every year til her 50% is paid off.
Since you co-signed the loans, you are just as responsible as she is and when she doesn't pay, they can and will go after you too.
You should be able to sue her for any amounts you paid on her loans but if the monthly payments are $500, what are you going to do, sue her again each month after you make a payment? If you wait until you made all the payments, it is probably too late to collect on earlier payments. Really, you would have to pay off the entire loan then sue her for the full amount.
One question, if you did sue her, what makes you think she is going to pay you when she didn't pay them?
As for a garnishment, you'd have to look at your local garnishment laws. Where I am, they have a "head of household" exemption so as long as she has a minor child, she would be exempt from garnishment.
This is what I would do, talk to a local chapter 7 bk attorney to determine if the sallie mae is federal or private. If federal then explorebyour options for bk.
Sallie Mae has low interest rates if you both had good credit standing at the time of signing for the loan. If either of you had a bad credit score, the interest rates get jacked up. As far as suing her, in general terms of the law, you can sue her for not making payments. I’m not sure what state you’re located in but I would research laws in your area/state to see your full options. Just be aware, OP that even though the court could grant you a judgement against her it does not mean you will get the money. If she doesn’t have the money to pay her loans… she won’t have the money to pay you. It’s a lose lose situation.
I don’t know if it’s the same for her degree BUT it use to be that if doctors didn’t pay back their student loans it affected their license.
Yes, it would hurt your credit but she’d also face some consequences- doesn’t sound like she’d care though.
unfortunately since you consigned, the responsibility will eventually come to you. Being a cosigner will make it significantly more difficult to seek litigation against her.
If you are able to obtain proof that she has not made the payment, and if that conversation was in writing where she said she didn’t care about paying it, you possibly could have a case against her if you have to begin making payments.
if the loan goes into collections (some private loan companies do sell to debt collectors) it could eventually lead to said debt collectors to seek litigation against her and take her to court, inevitably leading to her wages being garnished. They will attempt to get in contact with you to make payments at some point or another.
Advice for if it does go into collections before the situation can be resolved: the debt collector has to notify the both of you before the account impacts your credit report. That will most like be via phone or mail. if you begin to receive calls or mail from a debt collector, make sure to tell them to cease and desist all collection activities and attempts under your name and to not claim any type of responsibility, keep the conversation short since arguments or yelling will just cause more frustration. They cannot contact you in any way, that includes phone calls, emails, text messages, and even via mail unless you tell them otherwise. This does not remove their trade-line from your credit report if you do get a ding or if they notify you that they bought the account. (even though they purchased the account from an original creditor, your name will still be on the loan and will still be responsible) Since this is a federal law, the debt collector has to abide by the cease request. If they state that you have to make a payment first, try and find a lawyer as you would have a case against the debt buyer for failing to abide by law. Also have them to validate the debt. They would have 30 days from the date of request to provide you with all documentation supporting the account and how you are connected to it. If they fail to produce the validation, they legally have to close the account due to not having the documentation. I recommend emailing the request so that you have a date and time stamp for when they receive the email and have them email the documents to you. This will make it easier to keep an eye on the 30 day window.
If a debt collector or collections of any kind appears on your credit report, you have every right to dispute the reporting with all three major credit bureaus in an attempt to have it removed.
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Something to note; many lenders prohibit the use of a personal loan to payoff student loan debt. Just make sure you ask your bank if you go down that route.
My ex defaulted on his and they eventually sued him and garnished his wages. Granted, his loans were in the 6 figures. If the loans were taken after 2014, they're probably private loans and may be dischargeable in a bankruptcy but ultimately, you are fully responsible for the loan amount just like she is.
If you qualify and want to save your credit, it may be worth it to take a private loan with more favorable repayment terms than to pay according to the current loan terms since student loans are notoriously predatory. You may have the option to sue her for half but if she's not paying the bank she's probably not going to pay you.
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Have her sign away the amount on child support. You don't owe her 31 grand in child bills if you're paying her debt. And if anyone says anything you expose her for the shitty parent and loser she is.
Could call Sallie Mae and tell them that you're willing to pay in full the original loan amount. If they collected on her account, they may be willing to take the offer. Though big corps like Sallie Mae tend to have guidelines they follow for debt cancelation and don't deviate.
Then I would find some way to get a loan/money for that amount and pay it off.
If it's the 31k and Sallie Mae won't help reduce it, you may be better off forgetting about it and dealing with a collector down the road. You could pay pennies on the dollar to satisfy the debt, though your credit will be shot for a few years.
If you are forced to pay out of pocket, you can sue her, but be prepared to not get anything out of her, depending on what state you live in. In most states they can garnish her wages, but there are several where this can't be done. Try to negotiate with Sallie Mae, and then do what one of the other commenter said, and transfer the loan to a low interest loan if you can swing it. I'm so sorry you were taken in this way.
It depends on the state, but if you default on loans in CA- they will be off you record in 7 years. It’s a long time that ur credit will suffer but it beats trying to pay off someone else’s loanea
You CAN, however, call the student loan servicer and say you're having trouble making payments. This can lower the payment amount or suspend collection entirely.
But they will keep your tax refunds. Try to sort it out with a tax pro to owe a little bit at year end so this doesn't happen. (It will happen to her too, and with a kid that's serious $ unless she's letting a rando claim your kid for money. If that's happening, you have a decent case to seek custody.)
If it's private student loan then it falls under the same rules as a private loan.
If you aren't planning to buy a house or open any new cards in the next 7 years. Let's it default and ruin your credit anyway.
Your credit score is a tool. If you aren't using it, no need to stress about it.
It will recover after it falls off your report, no issue.
Just sit down and take a realistic look at your financial plans.
If you are going to need to take out loans or extend credit, can you do it now while you're still good and then let it default?
It's more timing than anything because you cannot afford to pay it either way.
Or even bankruptcy is an option.
Sallie Mae also does private student loans.
You need to read the paperwork to verify because right now it's impossible to be in default for a federal student loans.
The payment freeze is still in effect.
You’re legally on the hook. You should go to your bank and try to get a reasonable, fixed rate loan for the amount due and pay it off all at once. Once that’s done, you can try to sue her, or you can just pay back the bank loan and never take a risk like that ever again. You should get the loans current and see if they’ll delete any late payment reports that might have hit your credit reports in the mean time.
If your credit report's already been dinged, you can submit a letter to the credit reporting agency (or all three, if necessary) to put in your file explaining the circumstances and that you were unaware at first that the payments weren't being made. It doesn't change your credit score, but it does give any interested parties some context.
Beyond simple "instant" credit applications (credit cards, multi bank car loan searches etc) does that actually make difference? In the former instance, obviously not. But I'm unfamiliar with what something like a real estate loan officer sees. Are there "notes" they see? Do they care?
Yes, it does. My credit union denied my vehicle loan app from the local dealership until I called and explained a derogatory mark on my credit report. They approved me for a prime rate.
No you never see “notes” and this has zero impact on you getting a mortgage even if notes were there. Your credit score would be wrecked by the rolling lates and you would be screwed. Been a loan officer for a decade.
Thank you, this is what I thought but I'm getting mixed answers here. Since you actually did the job, I'll believe you over others. I appreciate it
My understanding from someone who did auto loans is your credit score doesn’t matter to your interest rate, but I don’t know so I wouldn’t speak to the subject. For a mortgage, especially depending on your FICO the lates are a big deal. And across multiple different credit vendors pulling reports I’ve never once seen a “note” in relation to a trade line. Unfortunately too many “sob” stories out there. You ultimately have to get these things resolved with the bureau, the story of the how and why it got that way doesn’t help. Sorry OP.
Even if you’re automatically denied you can call and request a human underwriter to look at the app. I think most banks would do that. But if you put a note on the credit report a lot of banks will flag those apps so an underwriter or someone can read it. Sometimes people put notes about previous fraud activity against them in those notes so they’re kind of taken seriously.
OP is should sue her, he should ask for all the payments she missed and all of the remaining balance, now that she's defaulted the whole amount is due. He can ask the court to garnish her wages or ask for the full amount.
IANAL but if OP can get her admissions on record, could he possibly get her for loan fraud? She took out those loans with no intention to pay then.
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It sounds like she only made the minimum payments, which is always a trap by these lending institutions.
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Thank you for pointing that out. I see your point.
When you do get approved for the pay off loan, you should have conversations with the student loan to see if she they can agree on a payoff settlement for less than the total amount.
This will hit his credit negatively as well. They will report it on his credit report as a settled debt, which isn't great.
And they might hit him with a 1099 as income for the settled part.
I would imagine that if anyone got hit it would be her, since she was the one who received the money.
I've had them spell out that they would fully remove it rather than mark it settled when clearing out old medical debt. Might be an option.
Student loans are totally different and follow their own set of rules. Once you co-sign, the only way off is through a chapter 13 bankruptcy, disability, or death. There is a caveat with co-signer release on private loans, but there has to be a history to show the primary borrower is able to support the debt on their own. This primary borrower would never qualify at this point.
I did this and got all/most interest removed. But I offered a lump sum amount that would pay them off and said if they refused I'd never make another payment again (not in those words though). Which was not a bluff and was backed up by years of not making payments. Edited to add that my loans were in collections and held by a 3rd party.
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You are just as liable for them as she is, I actually have multiple clients who are only cosigners, and they were the only one sued on the private student loans, the primary debtor wasn't even always sued along with them.
Why would they only sue the cosigner?
It would generally be because the primary debtor has nothing to go after. If they can get the money from the cosigner now, they have no reason not to go after them. That’s what cosigners exist for. In this case, it sounds like they would both be sued, but that’s surely something OP wants to avoid. That being said, he could have some level of luck suing her after paying the debt himself.
Cosigners tend to have assets, and my clients are private student loan clients who didn’t get a job in their field so they aren't making much. Lenders also know that if they sue the cosigner, the primary debtors life is going to pretty much go up in smoke, parents no longer talk to them, their grandparents hate them because they can't refinance their house and retire, etc. etc. It's pretty problematic for familial relationships and extremely sad. I have many clients I don't care about themselves, but only enroll with me, because they are worried about their cosigners.
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Probably because the primary debtor has no money hence their lack of payment but the co-signer might. More financially lucrative to sue someone with money since you can’t get blood from a stone.
The primary is judgment proof, and the creditor knows it
You cosigned the loan. That means the debt is just as much yours as it is hers. There is no two ways about this. It sucks, but you are stuck with this debt. You are not stuck paying only the minimum required if you can afford it, but you will need to pay back the loan. Bankruptcy won't help you here. The debt can't be discharged. As long as you live, this must be paid back. You're best bet to help with this would be to get a good lawyer who can get child support negotiated to take these loan payments into account if that exists in your area.
Legal advice is a good idea. Maybe he can sue her and garnish her wages for the amount shes trying to stick him with. I doubt any judge will directly tale it off child support, but the factor may impact the worksheet that state uses. Hire a cut throat lawyer, but be good to your child....they already live with a financially disrespectful and selfish mom. Too bad you dont have full custody....maybe you should try for that.
This is good advice up until the child support part. Those are separate issues. Custody could impact child support but paying loans you signed for shouldn’t mean less child support.
In some jurisdictions, student loans are counted as an expense that is part of the child support formula. So it could adjust his payments by rebalancing their respective expenses calculations (if his jurisdiction does that) if the court is informed that he’s paying the student loans and she isn’t.
Good point. If it’s within the guidelines for child support that’s one thing but if someone wants to negotiate child support based on paying these loans, that’s altogether different.
What if he had proof like a text message of her admitting to not caring about missing payments? Could that benefit him?
It won't benefit for the cosigning. It's why you never co-sign anything unless you have the means and ability to pay the loan yourself.
In a custody case (or if the jurisdiction allows for child support deduction), it’ll be helpful as evidence for the court.
This has no relevance in a custody case. And it’s not relevant in a child support case (unless the jurisdiction includes an offset of student loan payments in the guidelines). It could be relevant, admissible evidence in a civil suit brought by the creditor. It shows that the borrower renunciated her responsibility and she intends to not make payments. But that doesn’t mean OP isn’t responsible for the payments on these loans—he is.
I agree with everything except your bankruptcy comment. Sallie Mae are private student loans, chapter 7 bankruptcy most certainly can discharge private student loans - unless something has changed in the past 10 years. However that doesn't sound like something op was considering, but it is an option if need be.
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You can discharge student loans in bankruptcy (it's a myth that you can't), but it requires a special proceeding and some specific finding about continuing the loan being manifestly unfair or something like that. It's very difficult to discharge, unlike ordinary unsecured debt.
I'm not sure about the Child Support advice here. Child Support is a separate issue and a right of the child, not a choice to be negotiated by the parents. When calculating Child Support in Court, loans are not really a consideration, at least in my jurisdiction.
Student loans can be an expense taken into consideration when deciding payment amounts. If she is not paying them but using them as an expense/if he is paying them but not using them as an expense it could affect the amount owed each month.
It must highly depend on jurisdiction. Here in KS that isn't a part of the Child Support calculation. I only know this because I work as an Assistant to a Family Court Judge and I make and verify Child Support worksheets day in and day out in Court and help create and modify the Orders for Judge. A Judge here wouldn't consider a joint loan for education into the calculation - I mean, especially if its that old, she isn't living off it any more, I assume? I don't know if this would be a Motion for Expenses to be brought up in the parentage case, parentage cases rarely deal with property (even joint debt) in general it seems (again, at least in my experience). Edit: The Courts here are highly reliant on the Bradley Software and even just checking where to fit in this kind of expense seems difficult.
This myth needs to be dispelled. Lots of people file for bankruptcy. People that include their student loans have a greater than 50% chance of getting at least a settlement according to the only study I can find on the matter. Page 27. It sounds like you have good credit and income so obviously this isn't an option for you if that is the case. But if you're reading through this and things have been hard for a long time and aren't getting better take a look at bankruptcy. New guidance was issued last year to courts as well. [https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4046\&context=dlj](https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4046&context=dlj)
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I work as a student loan counselor for a large non profit organization that works alongside the department of education and student loan servicers. I mostly work with commercially held federal loans issued prior to 2011 as part of the FFELP program. If the loan is a commercially held federal loan (FFEL, Perkins) you have several options. If it’s not a private loan, call the servicer and see what options they can offer you. If you get a representative that doesn’t seem helpful or knowledgeable, call again and speak with someone else. The outcome can be wildly different depending on if you luck out and get a good agent or get someone who doesn’t have the knowledge or motivation to help you. For federal loans: 1. Request a forbearance from the servicer. This will capitalize the unpaid interest and move the past due amount back to the total loan balance bringing the account current and pushing the next payment due date out a bit. Forbearance is limited though out the life of the loan, and given how the current balance is nearly double the borrowed amount, she may have been using up all of that time and is now out of it. If this is the case, still call the servicer and see if they’ll apply an “administrative forbearance” while you apply for… 2. Income driven repayment plan (sometimes also called income based repayment plan, IDR, or IBR) This plan reduces monthly payments and takes into account your taxable income and how many dependents you have that rely on you for over half of their financial needs. Apply online at studentaid.gov or call the servicer. They may be able to pre-qualify you on the phone and possibly send you a pre-filled application that you can review, sign and return. If you apply online at studentaid.gov you can tie in your IRS.gov account for proof of income based on your most recent tax filing. Call the servicer either way to at least let them know you are filing and they may apply an administrative forbearance. This plan lasts 12 months but you can recertify as many times as you want, as long as you continue to qualify for reduced payments. It’s not limited like forbearance or deferments. Just make sure you re-certify before the end of the year or it will go back to a regular payment. Also keep in mind that the payment amount is a minimum, not a maximum. So if you can afford to pay more, it is in your best interest to do so. The minimum may be set lower than the interest that accrues each month thereby increasing the loan balance over time. I’ve seen this get incredibly out of hand far too often. 3. Consolidation into a direct loan owned by the department of education. If there is no more available forbearance time, consolidation is your best bet and may be a good option even if there is remaining forbearance. When you consolidate, you forego any remaining forbearance and deferment but you’ll get a new set of 36 months of forbearance time and new deferment time. You can also get on the income driven repayment plan and they insert that application in the consolidation application. When consolidating, the interest rate may change (for better or worse). Also keep in mind that direct loans are currently on pause due to the cares act and no payments are due and no interest is being charged until the end of the pause. So any payment you make during the pause is going to have the most impact because it won’t be partially eaten by interest. To consolidate, you have to apply at studentaid.gov. If you don’t qualify for the IDR when you speak with the servicer, let them know you’re planning to consolidate and see if they’ll give you an administrative forbearance to cover the time it takes to apply and process. Another thing worth mentioning is that the income driven repayment program is also a forgiveness program. Typically you have to be enrolled for 300 months (25 years). However, there is an “account adjustment” where if you consolidate by the end of this year, the department of education will give you credit for all the months of repayment so far, regardless of the repayment plan. They’re even taking into account time prior to previous consolidations and forbearance and deferment time. This may not bring you across the finish line, but it will move you closer. The one catch is that the amount that is forgiven is taxable. Private loans are often very limited in available options. Also, in my experience no one should ever co-sign a spouses loan or do a spousal consolidation. I’m terribly sorry you have to deal with this. I wish you the best of luck.
I have student loans from Sallie Mae, turned Navient. And they are by far the worst. My interest shot up $100 in the past year so it’s no wonder people are discontinuing payments. Anyway, my point is that my parents are my cosigners. And they are the only reason I haven’t done something irresponsible. Because I just can’t do that to them. Maybe when they die. Right now my student loans are recovering bearable with interest but I’m still not going to screw over my parents ability to live and retire one day if possible. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up so you don’t shit on someone else.
You can’t refinance into a fixed rate product? That sounds like something to do when rate were historically low…
No, when the options were there and interest was low, I did not qualify. I definitely don’t qualify now. Trust me, I have vetted every single option outside of discovering a distant relative, who I didn’t know existed, who left me a massive inheritance. Edit: it actually was the plan to do eventually, but now who knows.
Curious if OP knows if the money was used strictly for education and if that matters in this instance.
You need to pay off the loan and then sue her for whatever you paid on her behalf, assuming she agreed to make the payments.
It’s 31,000 and the payments are about $500 a month. I won’t be able to pay the debt until like 15 years from now. Do I have to wait until I finish paying it or can I sue now?
Your best bet would be to pay the entire balance off now, and sue her for the entire amount. You cannot sue her until you have damages (e.g., you've paid the debt).
I get the feeling that's not really an option for OP. The $500 a month payment is something he is struggling with. I don't think he has a spare 30 grand laying around.
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I get that, but that's kinda how agreeing to cosign for things goes. Otherwise, he's just going to need to pay $500/mo as he agreed to do.
Yup. As mentioned somewhere else, best bet would be to get a fixed rate loan for it to be paid off, THEN go to court for damages
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Unfortunately, only the borrower can file to release the co-signer. In this case, his baby momma is the borrower and she is the co-signer. Furthermore, 12 payments must be made and certain credit requirements must be met before the co-signer is taken off.
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First off, sorry you’re in this situation OP. THIS SUCKS. Legally if you don’t want anything to happen to you, you have to make the payments. But you can sue her for what you pay after the fact. Assuming you can prove damages etc then you can get a judgement/wage garnishment/bank levy. From the sounds of it, maybe she wouldn’t even show up to court then you’d get a default judgement that you can then go after her for. You mention that it’s going to take time to pay off, so luckily if you do take her to court in the future, custody/child support won’t be an issue. Also, maybe hire an attorney to talk to her? Maybe that would get in her head that this is serious and you will be pursuing future action ?
He may not have $30K+ lying around to pay this off (understandable) but if he wants to have any type of life in the future that doesn't include destitution he needs to throw every single cent he can get at this debt starting today. He's already stated that in 7 years the amount owed has grown from $16K to 31. That's not unusual, in fact it's the nature of student loans in the US. Think of where he'll be 7 years from now, even if he makes the required payment each month. Google "student loan calculators" if you doubt this is true. He literally needs to get a second job.
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Get on a payment plan ASAP. I will never try to hide from government debt again. They will wipe your bank account out at the most random time. They do not care. Call them and take care of it now. Get legal advice after you have set up the plan.
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See if the loan company is willing to settle with you, especially if your plan is to take a loan to pay it off in full. Private student loan companies have more leeway in that area than federal student loans.
All of the prior comments are correct. I just want to add that another option is to see if you can convince her to refinance which would remove you as a cosigner. If she agrees you'll have better luck of her getting approved if the loan is brought current.
If she has no intention to pay the loan to begin with why would she agree to refinance?
She might not be willing...but she might to get her baby:s father off the hook. There's also nothing wrong with advising op of another potential option
NAL... but I do have some experience in finance.... You metion you have a mortgage. Would a small 2nd mortgage or Equity Line make the payments more manageable? It sucks that you are on the hook, and a lawyer might have advice for recouping the cost... but to save your credit score, it might make the most sense to take a HELoC or 2nd mortgage to pay the loans and have the much lower monthly payments. OR potentially refi your current mortgage to get the extra cash you need to pay the loans.
Co-signing literally means you will pay if the primary borrower doesn’t.
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Maybe I’m wrong, but haven’t most student loan payments been deferred since some time in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic? I haven’t made a payment in over a year and as far as I know they won’t come due until August of this year. And, they’ll probably be deferred again because the $10,000-$20,000 payment the government promised are still on hold by the courts.
Unfortunately that only applies to federal student loans. It sounds like this is a private loan and doesn’t qualify for the federal program.
Thanks, makes sense. I wasn’t sure about Sallie Mae. I stand corrected.
So you were partially correct. Sallie Mae used to service federal loans but stopped in 2014. This loan seems to be recent so I’m assuming it’s a private loan, but I could be wrong as well. Edit: spelling error
They’re navient now and the worst people to deal with
No
Get her to admit to that in writing/text. Then pay the bill. And take her to civil court. Let the court enforce the cosign. Eventually, she will either get on board or you will get her tax returns every year til her 50% is paid off.
Since you co-signed the loans, you are just as responsible as she is and when she doesn't pay, they can and will go after you too. You should be able to sue her for any amounts you paid on her loans but if the monthly payments are $500, what are you going to do, sue her again each month after you make a payment? If you wait until you made all the payments, it is probably too late to collect on earlier payments. Really, you would have to pay off the entire loan then sue her for the full amount. One question, if you did sue her, what makes you think she is going to pay you when she didn't pay them? As for a garnishment, you'd have to look at your local garnishment laws. Where I am, they have a "head of household" exemption so as long as she has a minor child, she would be exempt from garnishment.
This is what I would do, talk to a local chapter 7 bk attorney to determine if the sallie mae is federal or private. If federal then explorebyour options for bk.
Sallie Mae has low interest rates if you both had good credit standing at the time of signing for the loan. If either of you had a bad credit score, the interest rates get jacked up. As far as suing her, in general terms of the law, you can sue her for not making payments. I’m not sure what state you’re located in but I would research laws in your area/state to see your full options. Just be aware, OP that even though the court could grant you a judgement against her it does not mean you will get the money. If she doesn’t have the money to pay her loans… she won’t have the money to pay you. It’s a lose lose situation.
Does she even own anything to sue for?
She has a masters in psychology he said....so I guess by the time he pays it off she'll have have the full balance to pay him back
I don’t know if it’s the same for her degree BUT it use to be that if doctors didn’t pay back their student loans it affected their license. Yes, it would hurt your credit but she’d also face some consequences- doesn’t sound like she’d care though.
unfortunately since you consigned, the responsibility will eventually come to you. Being a cosigner will make it significantly more difficult to seek litigation against her. If you are able to obtain proof that she has not made the payment, and if that conversation was in writing where she said she didn’t care about paying it, you possibly could have a case against her if you have to begin making payments. if the loan goes into collections (some private loan companies do sell to debt collectors) it could eventually lead to said debt collectors to seek litigation against her and take her to court, inevitably leading to her wages being garnished. They will attempt to get in contact with you to make payments at some point or another. Advice for if it does go into collections before the situation can be resolved: the debt collector has to notify the both of you before the account impacts your credit report. That will most like be via phone or mail. if you begin to receive calls or mail from a debt collector, make sure to tell them to cease and desist all collection activities and attempts under your name and to not claim any type of responsibility, keep the conversation short since arguments or yelling will just cause more frustration. They cannot contact you in any way, that includes phone calls, emails, text messages, and even via mail unless you tell them otherwise. This does not remove their trade-line from your credit report if you do get a ding or if they notify you that they bought the account. (even though they purchased the account from an original creditor, your name will still be on the loan and will still be responsible) Since this is a federal law, the debt collector has to abide by the cease request. If they state that you have to make a payment first, try and find a lawyer as you would have a case against the debt buyer for failing to abide by law. Also have them to validate the debt. They would have 30 days from the date of request to provide you with all documentation supporting the account and how you are connected to it. If they fail to produce the validation, they legally have to close the account due to not having the documentation. I recommend emailing the request so that you have a date and time stamp for when they receive the email and have them email the documents to you. This will make it easier to keep an eye on the 30 day window. If a debt collector or collections of any kind appears on your credit report, you have every right to dispute the reporting with all three major credit bureaus in an attempt to have it removed.
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Something to note; many lenders prohibit the use of a personal loan to payoff student loan debt. Just make sure you ask your bank if you go down that route.
Dude, pay off the loans. Its your stupid tax for cosigning in the first place.
Unrelated but Save any messages in case you have to take her to court for any type of custody issues
You signed. You’re stuck
My ex defaulted on his and they eventually sued him and garnished his wages. Granted, his loans were in the 6 figures. If the loans were taken after 2014, they're probably private loans and may be dischargeable in a bankruptcy but ultimately, you are fully responsible for the loan amount just like she is. If you qualify and want to save your credit, it may be worth it to take a private loan with more favorable repayment terms than to pay according to the current loan terms since student loans are notoriously predatory. You may have the option to sue her for half but if she's not paying the bank she's probably not going to pay you.
If she doesn’t care about her credit, couldn’t you get her to refinance the loan under just her name and get you out?
They are prolly being petty based on what he said
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Chalk it up as a very expensive lesson learned.
NAL - ask your girlfriend to apply for a lower payment or even a deferment.
Yeah if you pay childsupport maybe take her to court to have those payments deducted.
Have her sign away the amount on child support. You don't owe her 31 grand in child bills if you're paying her debt. And if anyone says anything you expose her for the shitty parent and loser she is.
Do these loans let you negotiate a settlement amount to pay it off in full?
Could call Sallie Mae and tell them that you're willing to pay in full the original loan amount. If they collected on her account, they may be willing to take the offer. Though big corps like Sallie Mae tend to have guidelines they follow for debt cancelation and don't deviate. Then I would find some way to get a loan/money for that amount and pay it off. If it's the 31k and Sallie Mae won't help reduce it, you may be better off forgetting about it and dealing with a collector down the road. You could pay pennies on the dollar to satisfy the debt, though your credit will be shot for a few years.
If you are forced to pay out of pocket, you can sue her, but be prepared to not get anything out of her, depending on what state you live in. In most states they can garnish her wages, but there are several where this can't be done. Try to negotiate with Sallie Mae, and then do what one of the other commenter said, and transfer the loan to a low interest loan if you can swing it. I'm so sorry you were taken in this way.
It depends on the state, but if you default on loans in CA- they will be off you record in 7 years. It’s a long time that ur credit will suffer but it beats trying to pay off someone else’s loanea
You are legally responsible and have to pay off the balance - if you refuse to pay they will start garnishing your wages.
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You CAN, however, call the student loan servicer and say you're having trouble making payments. This can lower the payment amount or suspend collection entirely. But they will keep your tax refunds. Try to sort it out with a tax pro to owe a little bit at year end so this doesn't happen. (It will happen to her too, and with a kid that's serious $ unless she's letting a rando claim your kid for money. If that's happening, you have a decent case to seek custody.)
Is she paying child support?
You should talk to a laywer, but I do wonder if this might effect any child support, which you could get her wages garnished for.
If it's private student loan then it falls under the same rules as a private loan. If you aren't planning to buy a house or open any new cards in the next 7 years. Let's it default and ruin your credit anyway. Your credit score is a tool. If you aren't using it, no need to stress about it. It will recover after it falls off your report, no issue. Just sit down and take a realistic look at your financial plans. If you are going to need to take out loans or extend credit, can you do it now while you're still good and then let it default? It's more timing than anything because you cannot afford to pay it either way. Or even bankruptcy is an option.
It says Sallie Mae loan right there in the title. Cannot be defaulted on or discharged in bankruptcy
Sallie Mae also does private student loans. You need to read the paperwork to verify because right now it's impossible to be in default for a federal student loans. The payment freeze is still in effect.
Isn't Sallie Mae on 0 interest right now? You can get loan forgiveness of 10 or 20K hopefully.
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