I'm not a SL expert, and need help ASAP.

I'm dealing with a messy situation and trying to help a very low income client (I do non-profit human services). This person is being garnished for student loans, and therefore has take-home income of ~$1,050/mo., and her rent is $775 (common here). She his living on the cusp of poverty, primarily due to health issues, but the garnishment has been part of the spiral that will lead her and her child to be on the streets within a matter of days due to eviction for delinquent rent. Each month, she got further behind due to the garnishment and is now digging out of a very deep hole.

Loan professionals--what hardship paperwork can I print out and walk through with her? I know this won't be a "quick fix" situation, but she has to start somewhere.

I think I found a partial answer here http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78557&hl= but am still hoping for input. By the way, these were all federal loans.

What I would recommend is that you get a signed authorization from her ASAP, fax it to the collection agency or DOE and talk to them directly. Or call on a conference call. Sounds like she didnt file an objection or request a hearing before the garnishment started. Did she receive it?? There isnt paperwork she can do now. However, talking to the right people...i.e AWG managers or supervisors might get the garnishment lifted?? Who is doing the garnishment??

Another option maybe contacting the ombudsman...he may be interceed on her behalf.

My sister was in the exact same situation. She had defaulted student loans and the DOE sent her a notice saying they were going to garnish her wages. In that same notice, they also sent her a financial waiver form to fill out.(They only give you 30 days to fill it out and return.) We did and she qualified for the waiver so they could not garnish her wages. You need to find out if your client recieved the waiver form. Good luck.