Q&A with Liz :Dealing with a Student Loan Nightmare

Q: We have a huge problem that we've been trying to solve without success. We co-signed a $40,000 student loan for our eldest child and then had a serious run of bad luck. My husband was critically injured and out of work for a long period, we lost money in the stock market, and our son has had trouble finding a good job after graduation. A lawyer told us bankruptcy would help our situation, but it didn't — the lender sued us and now we owe an additional $30,000 because of interest and fees. We hired a second lawyer, but he only made things worse. We make less than $50,000, don't own a house and have old cars that aren't worth very much. Our only asset is a retirement account worth $30,000. We have begged the collection agency for a repayment plan that we can afford, but our pleas have been ignored. We have two more kids to help with college and feel as if we are living in a nightmare. Do you have any hope for us?

Answer: You've discovered the modern reality of student loans: Once you've got them, you're stuck with them.



A federal law change in 1998 made most student loans virtually impossible to erase in Bankruptcy Court. (The recent bankruptcy reform act tightened the law even further to include loans for education made by for-profit lenders.) Unlike most other secured debt, there's also no statute of limitations on student loans. That means a lender can sue you decades after the loans were made. The statute of limitations on other debt is typically a few years.



All this means student loan collectors can really play hardball with debtors. You can't run, you can't hide, and the collection agencies monitor your credit reports so they can jump in if your financial situation seems to be improving.



You may be understandably soured on attorneys. But if your requests for an affordable repayment plan are being ignored, your best bet might be to hire another lawyer — one experienced with student loan debt — to deal with the collection agency. The National Assn. of Consumer Advocates at (202) 452-1989 or http://www.naca.net can provide referrals.



You probably need to give up on the idea of helping your other kids with college. Your priorities need to be paying off this debt and saving for your own retirement. You also need to get your oldest son to contribute his part — he's the one who benefited from all this debt, after all.

source :
http://www.asklizweston.com/dealing-with-a-student-loan-nightmare-052305.htm