Question:
Dear Steve,
Hi Steve, I co-signed my daughter's student loans which she and her husband stopped paying because Navient was asking for $1,100 a month (he lost the overtime advantage he was using to pay back the student loans) and all I could help towards that was $200.
My daughter directed me to your site and we decided to stop paying and wait until they either sue us or the statute of limitations expires. We have paid about $15,000 of a $150,000 debt. I have started saving the $200 a month I was giving them in an account called "If Judgment Comes." :)
The loans are now in collections. I would like to know if the collection agency can either freeze my bank accounts or garnish my pay before we get sued and if they can do it without warning? Thank you.
Rosie
Answer:
Dear Rosie,
I think you are referring to the article "Top 10 Reasons You Should Stop Paying Your Unaffordable Private Student Loan" that was written by attorney Greg Fitzgerald.
Any time you default on a debt the lender can avail themselves of their rights and remedies as specified by the contract or under the law.
So is it possible you could be sued? Absolutely. But as Greg says in that article, simply being sued is not the worst thing that could happen because it can open you to other solutions you didn't otherwise have.
I can't stress enough how much a good and experienced advisor is critical in a situation like yours. You can't get the best outcome if you are coasting in the blind.
My advice would be to either find a licensed attorney in your state who is experienced with these issues. If you are in California, consider contacting attorney Greg Fitzgerald at DebtorProtectors.com.
You can also contact people like Damon Day who is a very experienced debt coach who can guide you through the process. Damon has assisted many people through these rough waters.
What you don't want to do is wait for the judgment to come, but to develop a plan of action that either involves taking action and contacting the right department at Navient when the loan is ripe to settle, or to deal with being sued by talking to a lawyer.
It is entirely possible to settle private Navient student loans. I wrote about that process here.
My advice at this point would be to not just wait for a letter in the mailbox that you've been sued, but to find an experienced professional to work with to have a real strategy on what to do next.
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This article by Steve Rhode first appeared on Get Out of Debt Guy and was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.