Question

Student loan question.  My husband let his student loans go into default.Student loan question. My husband let his student loans go into default. I finally figured that out and did a consolidation loan to get them out of default however the student loan servicer I chose for him will not complete the consolidation for 10 days. I choose Great Lakes because that is who has my loans and I have never had an issue with them. He had Navet. In the meantime our tax refund is due to be deposited by March 9th but I recieved notice this morning our refund is being offset. So the original loan company is going to get paid in full and keep my tax refund. That does not sound right. Do we have any options? I tried to call Navet but they refuse to talk to me and he is always working when they have phone hours.  

Answer 1

I think you could possibly apply for injured spouse or something like that to get your portion of the return. But I think there are certain criteria that needs to be met.  

Answer 2

You can file “injured spouse” to at least get your portion of the refund.  

Answer 3

This happened to my friend. They took it all

Answer 4

You will get any excess back from one of the companies. The IRS can't stop the offset Becca they are just the enforcer. My guess is the loan originatornwill be overpaid by the consolidation company and the funds will come back from the original place.  

Comments

While navient can't talk to you about your husbands specific details you can call and ask if this happens then what would happen general questions

Answer 5

Your husband should be able to call on a lunch break to authorize you to speak and act in his place

Comments

@kala7591 he doesn't take a lunch and is on the road constantly. I will have to get him to find some time.  

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@vick I can relate, sometimes it is a nightmare trying to get anything done

Answer 6

This happened to my boyfriend. They took his tax return last year when he wasn’t making payments and now their taking it again this year even though he’s making payments. And there’s nothing he can do about it. First priority when I get a job is to get that student loan paid off.  

Comments

@ate311 why would you pay off a boyfriends loan? Um.?  

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@festive I’m not but me getting a job will free up more of his money to pay off the loan. Not that I’d have a problem helping him. We’ve been together for over five years and live together and he gave me money to help buy my house. Helping each other through tough spots works for us.  

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@ate311 tell him to change his withholding.  

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@poore thanks that’s another step he’s taking.  

Answer 7

Thought I would add that this almost happened to me a few years ago. Before I filed my taxes, I called the offset line and found out I could possibly (more than likely) have my refund offset. So I worked with the loan company and completed the 9 mo program which took me out of default. Once I was cleared of that, I filed my taxes in October and received my whole refund back.  

Comments

@consubstantiation24 too late :( I had no idea there was an offset. Hes been in default 8 years and they have never taken it before.  

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@vick they’ll definitely sneak up on you. I was in a similar situation. There was no way I could afford their lowest payment option so I just let them go. But it’s straighten out now.