"You can survive this. Talk to others that have"

movingforward13 posted 6/25/2014 17:34 PM

Sallie Mae?
Ex owes $160K+ in student loans and between child support, credit card debt, his luxury apartment and his car note with two rolled over loans ( ), he can't afford to pay us all. I just got a forwarded letter that he is behind 60 days on five Sallie Mae accounts. Can they garnish his salary? Can he file bankruptcy? Can that affect me? There is no joint debt but my child support is being garnished from his check.

Beep, beep-

[This message edited by movingforward13 at 5:35 PM, June 25th (Wednesday)]

katiescarlett posted 6/25/2014 17:42 PM

Bankruptcy doesn't absolve federal student loans. He needs to contact Sallie Mae and find out if he can defer payments.

ButterflyGirl posted 6/25/2014 17:44 PM

I believe child support and taxes are the 2 things never discharged in a bankruptcy. Those payments should be secure no matter how bad he's handling his finances..

Thank God for garnishment!

movingforward13 posted 6/25/2014 17:52 PM

He has already deferred his payments with Sallie Mae for 3 years while he was unemployed in 2009. Then he got another deferral while he was completing grad school in 2011- 2013. Safe to say they aren't going to defer him any more unless he gets another Masters. Plus his credit is hit- the score is in the 500s- I don't think anyone wants to give him a loan. I just want to make sure that I will be OK. Unfortunately his child support is still supplementing putting the food on the table for us. I am trying to get into a position that my salary alone takes care of us and the child support is just extra that I can put in my son's savings.

[This message edited by movingforward13 at 5:57 PM, June 25th (Wednesday)]

movingforward13 posted 6/25/2014 17:53 PM

And yes butterfly- thank God for garnishment but even that isn't foul proof. There are loopholes with that and sometimes I don't receive the full court order :(
I hope Med Girl starts helping him out financially... But after going to Cornell and Med School, her student loans are probably a ridiculous amount too.

[This message edited by movingforward13 at 5:55 PM, June 25th (Wednesday)]

Gemini71 posted 6/25/2014 18:34 PM

Sallie Mae can garnish. It cannot be discharged by bankruptcy. I don't think it'll preempt CS.

sparkysable posted 6/26/2014 09:39 AM

Can they garnish his salary?

Yes, but I believe they go after tax returns first.

Can he file bankruptcy?

He can file, but student loans are not dischargeable in bankrupcy.

Can that affect me?

I would not think so.

There is no joint debt but my child support is being garnished from his check.

I believe CS payments would take precedence and you will always get paid before student loan collections.

Beep, beep-

He deserves every minute of it.

NoMorDeceit posted 6/26/2014 11:11 AM

The only issue I see is that his employer is not required to tolerate having to do multiple garnishments. As an employee he can't be terminated over one(though they could use another excuse), but I believe multiple garnishments can open the door to termination. If he gets fired, that could impact your support payments. Beyond that I don't see any impact to you.

Undefinabl3 posted 6/26/2014 11:25 AM

They will take all of his tax return for as long as they need to, and can also garnish his wages up to a certain percent.

You can defer your loans for a long time. I have had to defer them mostly now for 8 years...I had a good year stretch where i was able to make my payments, but we have just had so many issues with jobs that I have had to do it.

They know you have to pay them back eventually, so they will just grin as he rings up interest on the deferment that he asks for.

Phoenix1 posted 6/26/2014 13:17 PM

Just a note of clarification, student loans CAN be discharged in bankruptcy, though it is very difficult. If it can be shown to the bankruptcy court that it poses an undue hardship, they can be discharged.

As with any debt, his salary can be garnished, tax returns taken, etc., but tax debt and child support always trump all other debt. As long as he has income, you will be at the top of the priority list, even if he files for bankruptcy.