Co Signer

[bigjoey38]

I co-signed for 2 Student loans for my son. One is for salliemae and the other one is for wells fargo. My son is out of a job and has not made a payment in 5 to 6 months. Now I am getting phone calls.

Questions-

1) If he does bankruptcy will they still come after me? I know the loans have to be paid back but I cant pay them at this time.

[lrprn]

I1) If he does bankruptcy will they still come after me? I know the loans have to be paid back but I cant pay them at this time.

Yes, as the co-signer if the original signer defaults, you are totally responsible to repay the student loans. That's the risk you take when you co-sign

Did your son finish school? Is he looking for ANY job now so that he can at least meet his responsibilities on these loans? How is he paying his bills since he's been unemployed for 5-6 months? Does he have a car payment?

Until your son does find a job, start by contacting both student loan lenders. See if a consolidation is possible to combine the two loans and get a lower rate. Unfortunately these two loans are private, not government - those are harder to consolidate.

If a consolidation isn't possible, then check on their terms for forebearance or deferment to buy yourself some time (although the interest will continue to accrue). Many student loan lenders are willing to set up payment plans, although if all you do is pay the interest, the principal balance will never go down

You can't just ignore these loans, even if you can't afford to pay them now. Private student loan lenders can be ruthless, especially Sallie Mae. Eventually you will end up in court and your wages will be garnished to pay on the loans. Far better to be proactive and find out what your options are long before that happens.

Check out these websites to learn more about possible options when student loans can't be repaid:

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/pg/1/objectId/63C80677-0D3E-4505-AC3B7782841603F6/catId/2E00F7A7-E208-4858-BD0B8308A4D30D8A/213/208/135/ART/

http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/

http://www.moranlaw.net/studentloans.htm