No. Student debt that you bring into a marriage remains your debt. Let's say you have $30,000 in federal student loans and $40,000 in private student loans when you get married. Your spouse might help pay down your debt, but you're the only one legally responsible.
If you cosigned on your spouse's student loans at any time, whether they're federal loans, private loans, or refinanced loans, that means you are legally liable for those student loans.
Legally, any student loan debt you incurred before getting married is considered separate property and remains so after the divorce (unless a prenup states otherwise). So if you borrowed $70,000 to attend law school before marrying your spouse, that debt is yours.
The answer is yes. Your student loan creditors can garnish your spouse's wages to recover the amount of your defaulted student loan. You don't mention whether the loan was incurred before or after marriage. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter.
In general, your spouse's debt won't affect your credit unless you co-signed a loan with them. If you co-sign a student loan and your spouse falls behind on the payments, your credit score will be impacted.
Debt you bring into a marriage typically remains your own, but loans taken out while married can be subject to state property rules in divorce. And if one spouse co-signs the other's private student loan, he or she is legally bound to the loan unless you can obtain a co-signer release from the lender.
Marriage won't automatically merge you and your partner's credit histories. Thus, marrying someone with student loan debt can't hurt your credit score. If the loan is co-signed, however, you share the repayment responsibility and any failure to make installments on time can hurt your credit score.
Unfortunately, filing taxes jointly with your husband means that both your tax refunds could be garnished. As you know, defaulting on federal student loans can lead to the garnishment of your wages and tax refund. If your student loans are in default, the IRS could intercept your returns to collect.
Student loans don't go away after seven years. There is no program for loan forgiveness or cancellation after seven years. But if you recently checked your credit report and are wondering, "why did my student loans disappear?" The answer is that you have defaulted student loans.
The laws and regulations for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans require payments to be calculated based on a combined household income, including your spouse's income if you are married.
So if you live in any of those nine states, you and your spouse will have to evenly split all student loan debt that was acquired after marriage. California is an exception; even though it's a community property state, student loans are considered separate property.
Student loans that you have defaulted on or are delinquent on are going to stay on your credit report for seven years from the original delinquency date of the debt. Student loans are a type of installment loan, like an auto loan or a mortgage.
When you fall behind on payments, there's no property for the lender to take. The bank has to sue you and get an order from a judge before taking any of your property. Student loans are unsecured loans. As a result, student loans can't take your house if you make your payments on time.
Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven't repaid your loan in full after 20 years or 25 years, depending on when you received your first loans. You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven.
Unfortunately, there can be many negative consequences of failing to make your student loan payments, including wage garnishment, a drop in your credit score or a suspension of your professional license.
No, there is no coronavirus-related loan forgiveness for federal student loans. The Department of Education and your loan servicer should be your trusted sources of information about official loan forgiveness options. You never have to pay for help with your federal student aid.
If you have a Plan 2 loan, it will be written off 30 years after the first April on which you were due to repay it.
By requesting innocent spouse relief, you can be relieved of responsibility for paying tax, interest, and penalties if your spouse (or former spouse) improperly reported items or omitted items on your tax return.
However, the government halted all student loan collections on federal student loans at the start of the pandemic, and the relief currently lasts through May 1, 2022. This means that your tax return won't be taken to offset your outstanding federal student loan balance for the 2021 tax season.
Innocent Spouse Relief provides you relief from additional tax you owe if your spouse or former spouse failed to report income, reported income improperly or claimed improper deductions or credits.
Can my student loans be forgiven if my spouse is disabled? You cannot get your federal student loans forgiven if your spouse is disabled. However, your spouse may be eligible to have their student loan debt forgiven through the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Program.
If your husband or wife is a cosigner on the loan, he or she is equally responsible for the full amount. So if you stop making payments, your spouse is on the hook as well. If you took out your loan before you got married, then your spouse isn't required to pay it during the marriage or if you get divorced.
Depending on how you file your taxes, marriage may affect your student loan repayment strategy, particularly if at least one spouse has federal student loans that are being repaid on an income-driven repayment plan. When you get married, you have the option to file federal income taxes jointly or separately.