I started college at age 18 in 2021 and dropped out in 2023. When I first filled out for financial aid I was living with my grandmother who made 30k a year but was still legally under my mother who made 70k. My grandmother and I tried to get my mother to swap custody before I graduated but she complained that a lawyer was to much (she wanted to claim me on taxes).
When I finally get to school I found out that my aid (grants, loans, and scholarships) didn't cover everything but I was literally in my dorm by the time they told me. So I had to have someone pull out a Parent PLUS. I tried to get my grandmother to considering her credit was phenomenal and her income was lower but they said that since I turned 18 and was still legally under my mother's custody I could only get my mother to do it. So we had discussed over texts about how I would pay it back but it was very spur of the moment and it was that or move back home before classes even started.
I dropped out in 2023 because of severe mental health issues and now I have a job but I make just enough to pay my own loans. I give my mother $200 a month as well. She makes over 100k now and I make like 13k. Now she is trying to get more money from me because her income went up so her payments went up too. But my income stayed the same.
She calls the loan "my" loan in our texts and communicates any change in payments there. I have no option but to agree at this point but I have gone from paying $200 a month to her to $400. And I can't even afford my own student loans at this point.
If I were to stop paying her would she be able to sue me privately? Would she have any chance of winning? Like I said she makes over 100k a year but I haven't seen any of that money since I was 12 years old. Now Im stuck paying these high loans because she wouldn't give custody to my grandma despite me living with her for 8 years.
Are texts enough for my mother to hold me to paying her Parent Plus loan?
byu/Existing-Ad-8897 inStudentLoans
Posted by Existing-Ad-8897
10 Comments
Text messages are irrelevant to loan contracts terms and who is responsible for the loan on paper.
She is legally and financially responsible for Parent Plus loans. They are in her name, and will affect her credit, not yours. If the loan(s) goes into default, it will be her wages and/or tax refund that will be garnished, not yours.
While I applaud you for trying to do the right thing by making those payments for her – they are not your responsibility.
ETA: If she wouldn’t pay for a lawyer before, I doubt she’ll pay for one now. She knew that she was legally responsible for repaying the loan when she signed the contract. Text messages won’t get her very far in a court room. Tell her you have your own loans to pay back and she needs to pay for her own. Don’t respond to any more texts about the loan.
Parent Plus Loans are the responsibility of the parent. If you pay nothing there is no recourse.
There is no contract and she signed all the paperwork saying she would pay it back. Nothing will happen if you don’t pay her.
I say this with all due respect, but you need to grow up. You need to find ways to increase your income and help pay the loan she took out for you. Your mom worked for her salary, it’s time you do the same.
you owe your mother money, buddy
Nothing will happen to you legally but morally you are wrong. On top of that you dropped out. I agree with the previous, grow up and be responsible. Higher education is a luxury you could not afford. You would have viewed her as an unfit parent had she told you to pack up your dorm and come home.
Its her legal responsibility. I also would not give her the $. Pay the loan directly. She might not even be using that $ for her loan. Yes its her loan.
Could she sue you? Sure. But you would be no worse off imho.
Why not start earning more than 12k a year? You are not in school so you should be working full time.
That’s messed up!