Question My Dad's bringing me down with him

[heatherface]

So, here's my issue:

I've just found out that my dad has been spending money VERY recklessly. he has somewhere between 10 and 20 credit cards, several of which are maxed out. He's to the point where he will not be able to make his house payment anymore. His bills amount to about $1000 more than he makes each month. I'm pretty sure at least Chapter 11 or something is in his near future.

But, there's an even bigger problem, the part that sucks me into it.

Back when I was graduating high school my dad took out a loan for my education. I had a scholarship so he just used the money for a family vacation to Europe. But, when I check my credit report I'm listed as a joint owner of this account. I did NOT intend to be part of this, nor did I even need the money. I contacted Salli-Mae and they said I can't be disassociated from it.

Is there anything I can do?
The payments on this $50,000 loan are scheduled to begin one year from now. If my dad files bankruptcy, this defers straight to me right?

Any answers or advice would be wildly appreciated.

Thanks, Heather.

[WorkingItOut]

Student loans cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy, so both you and your father will continue to be liable for them.

[Flamingo]

Your father has a spending issue and it will catch up with him very soon if he cannot stop on his own. Workingitout is correct - you are stuck with the student loan and need to approach your father about the situation. You and your father both applied/signed to obtain the student loan so unless you were forced to sign the paperwork under duress and can prove fraud on the part of your father and prove you did not know the funds were used for a jaunt in Europe, you and he will have to figure out how to pay it off.

[magyar123]

I would confront the student loan processor and demand full validation of that debt, demanding ESPECIALLY any and all documentation showing anything with your signature on it. If there is no paperwork reflecting your signature your father fraudulently obtained it.

[JRScott]

You can do as magyar suggests, if they can't validate it then you might can be off the hook. Confront your father, he's gonna hit the brick wall soon enough.

It is almost impossible to get student loans dismissed in a bankruptcy. Sometimes you can get a modification but it is not easily obtained. In essence if your father took out a student loan knowing that you did not need the money and then used it for an extravagant vacation then he obtained the loan under false pretenses. In essence it was fraud. Which means it is a nondischargeable debt.