My student loans are in default do to requesting a defferment and getting it but I didn't remember when it was to start back into repayment and I hadn't gotten notification.

In July of 2005 my son was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and had to have a shunt put in immediately because the pressure in his head was 3 times what it was suppose to be. He was bleeding behind his eyes and would have died. I had no insurance at the time because I was working as a temp and waiting to be hired on full time. Then I got insurance in August. Then my son was diagnosed with brain cancer in December which was what caused the hydrocephalus in the first place. He had a biopsy and a port put in, 6 sessions of Chemo and 6 weeks of Radiaton. Anyway I was telling this so the situation is understood. I had to move from Florida and my job after hurricane Wilma made it impossible to continue living in the house I was renting and the landlords were fighting with the insurance company because the whole house was being over ridden with mold which was not a place a child having chemo should be in. I now live in my grandmothers living room with my 2 girls and my son shares a room with his grandmother. I only get $624 dollars a month from TANF yet my child support comes up to $768 a month and the state keeps the rest. I am not hireable because of all the time I have to take off to care for my son so I can't find a job and even NHEP has thrown their hands up. How can I possibly pay for this student loan? I know I could try for hardship bankruptcy but no one ever gets that. I have over $60000 in medical bills and don't know what to do about this. I had to pay some medical bills which has completely destroyed my credit because I didn't have enough to pay for the other things, otherwise they were threatening to stop treating my son. My car was repoed and I can't afford another one. This is what happens when you try to save your sons life. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I can't even use my income tax to get a vehicle because they are taking it. I also must say that I don't live in an area where public transportation is available.

Have you talked to a lawyer about this?
How old are your student loans?

Have you talked to the student loan people?
If you can't work, how do you have a tax refund?

As stated before I had a job for three and half months of last year. I made a whole $6000. No I haven't spoken to a lawyer. The student loans are from 2001-2002.

Sorry I missed that.. I would look a little harder at a hardship bankruptcy. Given the enormity of your medical bills it may very well be something that could be considered.

http://www.moranlaw.net/answerstudentloans.htm

What did the student loan people tell you?
If you can rehabilitate the loan it should make it where it won't take your tax refund, but you have to contact them and tell them your entire situation and ask for help.

Issues:

At this time you need to focus on survival. Once your sons illness is resolved, you need to prioritize.

The medical debt will be far easier to get rid of then the student loans in bankruptcy.

The medical debt has statute of limitations, not the case with student loan debt.

There was assistance available from the Department of Education for borrowers affected by hurricanes- defaulted borrowers were not and are not eligible. Had you exercised "due diligence" in keeping your account current you may have been eligible for additional assistance as a hurricane victim.

Bankruptcy (Undue Hardship Petition):

Most court cases cite Brunner v. New York State Higher Education Services Corp. (October 14, 1987, #41, Docket 87-5013) for a definition of "undue hardship". That decision adopted the following three-part standard for undue hardship:

1. That the debtor cannot both repay the student loan and maintain a minimal standard of living.
2. That this situation is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period of the student loans.
3. That the debtor has made good faith efforts to repay the loans.


#1: Obviously the case as of right now.
#2: What is your reasonably expected financial future? They would look at your past earnings, your current situation, your ability to work and earning potential Over the next 25 to 35 years. People that are healthy, able to work, able to live above the poverty level after making the minimum monthly payments on their student loans, etc are generally expected to repay them. If you were to have some of your debts discharged could you repay all or part of the the student loans? Based on your anticipated financial future what could you be reasonably expected to repay and maintain a minimal standard of living?
#3: Have you made payments when able to (they will review employment history, including earnings)? Did you keep your lender abreast of your address if it changed? Did your request deferments or forbearances when unable to pay? Did you notify your lender of changes in employment status, etc?

Borrowers who do not satisfy all 3 above conditions will generally not have their student loans discharged. Borrowers who meet all of the above may have all or part of their loans discharged.

This is general information- if you want legal advice specific to your situation talk to an attorney.

Please look into other assistance methods too. Social Security. Is your son on Medicaid? Some healthcare facilities have charity care as well.

I would do the same, if I were in your shoes. My children come first and foremost.

I don't know what to do about your SL's, I'm new to that world.

Thank You for your answers. I would love to rehab the loan but I don't have a dime to give. As far as the hurricane assistance yes I would have been able to get help if not defaulted but when you are trying to clean mold and then save enough money to move and then every other week at the hospital I was not thinking about that since I wasn't sure when the deferrment ended. Yes some is my fault but as far as keeping up with my payments there was noway to do that. When my son went in for an appointment they would call me in the billing office and say that if I didn't give them anywhere between $100 to $250 each time they would cancel his appointment and not see him until paid.

Do you have medical assistance for your son?
They may be able to back date it too.

See what help you can get. This is a a situation where you have to do what is best for your son.

Yes at this time he is on his fathers insurance and medicaid. Unfortunately none of them will back insure him. We already tried to ask that. Believe me I am taking care of him. He is my angel and my hero. He takes all this so well. Only once, right after his biopsy did he hurt so bad that he said he wanted to die. He told me he was trying to go to sleep forever but God wouldn't let him. I knew then that he was going to be OK and that gave me so much hope.