My mom co-signed for my ex-brother-in-law's student loan back when he was still married to my sister. Actually, they have been separated for over a year, but not yet legally divorced. The loan payments are now due. My mom found this out when she received a late notice. The reason she co-signed was because of his bad credit and she was able to get a lower interest rate. Mom can't put her credit at risk,, and she can't trust ex-bil to pay, so she has been making the payments. He is expected to send her a monthly check. He is always late, often skips payments or makes a partial payment. My mom has tried to get her name off the loan, but she was told it would have to be paid without missing a payment for two years, and then HE would have to take her name off. She can't do it. He's not a bad guy. It's just that he is irresponsible and immature. This is the reason #1 for the divorce and #2 the bad credit. He is a 35 year old single man who makes average money, has no kids and rents a room. There is no reason why he should not be able to afford $105.00 per month, especially when it is someone else's credit. It's not THAT much money per month, but it adds up and my mom shouldn't have to pay it. She did recently lost her job of 29 years. My sister also takes no responsibility for this situation. My suggestion to my mom is for her to continue paying until the 2 years is up, try to collect whatever she can from him, and then try to convince him to take her name off the loan. Once this is done, she needs to get a small claims judgement for any remainder that he owes her. Does anyone have any better advice regading this situation?
I would say contact an attorney and see if she can get her name removed or garnish his wages, but she knew going in that she would have to do this so it's kind of sad but expected.
NEVER cosign for anyone, anytime.
Now, Kat D. has an excellent idea. Take him to small claims court for all past payments, costs, and interest. You do not need an attorney and the limit is usually around $3000 so ask now. Plus, he still might not pay, but then the judge can garnish his wages.
If I were her I'd tell my daughter (BIL's wife) that I'm deducting the full amount from her inheritance (if I have anything left) and that I don't take kindly to her husband (soon-to-be ex) ripping me off.
There is a reason why the Bible warns against co-signing (pledging for your neighbor).
I had a grad school professor define a co-signer as "a fool with a pen."
I am so sorry this happened to your mom. :(
I would go to small claims court now. This is a good lesson for all of us - the nice thing to do is not always the wise thing to do.
I would have her take him to small claims court for the money - or to court if it's more than her court can handle and get the judge to intervene...
This totally sucks...and I mean TOTALLY sucks...how totally irresponsible of him to do this and to take advantage...
I can't believe your sister won't help out with this bill at all. That's pretty crappy of her, especially because she's the reason your MIL ever came to know your ex-BIL in the first place.
I can't believe he's being a d-bag & not taking any responsibility for his debt.
I agree with the others - take him to small claims court.
It's because of stories like this that I don't help people out financially.
She needs to go to a claims court either now or later, it has to happen. My exhusband's exgirlfriend's mom did this with his car and when me and him split up he decided not to pay on it anymore (which made no sense b/c he made tons of money) and she ended up having a repossession on her credit. Live and learn. I think it may turn out bad for her but maybe the courts will help her.
She can't take him to small claims for back payment or remainder owed since she legally signed the form, so she legally is the one who has to pay if the man doesn't. It sucks, but she knew going in he had bad credit. The thing she CAN do, is take him to a notary and they both sign papers (a promissory note) stating the amount he will pay and when the date will start paying it back and how much per month and when he will fully take over payments. This is the only way she can back this up, when he fails to start making payments, then she can sue him. Aside from that, she's pretty lucky, our student loans are over $800 a month!
I would agree to taking him to court at this point as it is highly possible that even the thing about her name being taken off the loan could be a done deal so long as she takes him to court to do that now. I would think she might have a harder time recovering the $2500+ that she would have paid for two years if she waits until 2 years from now to take him to court. Hopefully possibly the threat of settling it in court makes him wise up and offer to take her name off and work out a settlement with her before going that far
Reason number 2,095 not to co-sign for a loan or lend money!!
The truth is..she cant do anything right now. NEVER EVER EVER Co-sign ANYTHING for ANYONE ever. Sorry, I dont intend to be harsh but co-signing a loan is the same as taking a loan - that means she is fully responsible for the loan should he fail to pay. I have worked in contracts and have taken out several student loans and work in the legal field.
Student loans are nearly impossible to get rid of. The ONLY way she could get out of it is if he agree's to take her off the loan AND the bank/lender ALLOWS her off (if he is a poor credit risk, they are not going to let her off - that is why they wanted a co-signer, so someone would be responsible if he defaults on the loan).
In many cases you can not even write off student loans in bankruptcy. I think your suggestion is her best chance - pay for the two years (be on time, and dont miss a payment), keep good records of EVERY dime. At the end of the two years convince the bank to novate the agreement (take her off and make him fully responsible, which they might if they think that HE has made two years of payments without missing one) and sue him for the amount she has paid in small claims court. But I would not let him know that you plan to sue him until AFTER he lets her off the loan...otherwise he never will.
I am so sorry this happened to her -- something similar happened to my grandmother. Good luck to you and your mom and tell her to never co-sign anything again (it would have been better for her to have given him a loan herself -- at least she could sue for it and get a lien against his wages)
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That's why the banks want a co-signer for a student loan. Student loans cannot be cleared through bankruptsy either. The banks will only accept someone with good credit and a long work history or some one with a real good paying job as a co-signer. It's a racket that was probably designed by the banker in "Its a Wonderful Life."
Advice? Keep paying the $105. And thank your lucky stars it wasn't $250 or $300 per month. Sue when he gets a job.
BTW, The bank won't go after him unless the bank goes after you for collections. They don't look at him as the first borrower. They look at both people equally. That is in the fine print's fine print.
Good luck to you and yours.
Hello, If your ex brother-in-law and your sister were married at the time, and he is not paying, then your sister should be paying at least something. This is not your mother's responsibility. I understand that your sister had these problems with him when she was married to him, but really, she should have not allowed your mother to co-sign for this loan. Then, she can try and get the money from him. Other than that, your mother may just have to take what she can get from him and sue him for the rest.
I wish her luck.
K. K.
