Hi,

Hoping that someone might have some knowlege about this. We have $50,000 outstanding PLUS loans that we made for our daughter. I applied for a discharge, but was denied, because the loans were made in my husband's social security number, but I was the one who paid them. Now that I am disabled, we can't afford to pay them, but we were just denied a discharge. Has anyone out there gone through this?

tellie

I was able to get a discharge for my husbands student loans. He is the person disabled by hd and they were his loans. The rules are different for Plus loans. Because the loans weren't made for you to go to school and under your SS number I doubt you'll be able to discharge.
You may be able to try forbearance but that will only be temporary.
Good luck.

Thanks for your input. It is a tough question. I have an appointment to talk with the social worker at Rush - she's so helpful! I've collected all my check records from the last ten years, and she is going to help me write a letter, "stating that you are disabled with a progressive, neurodegenerative illness that causes ongoing financial hardship."

tellie

Sorry to hear about the denial of the discharge of the Parents PLUS loan for your daughter.

I was able to get the Parents PLUS loan for my daughter discharged because the loan was in my name, and I have HD, which is not your case unfortunately.

I have a resource that may be able to help you.
I suggest you contact Jane Kogan, who is the Congressional Advocacy Representative at HDSA.

I met her at HDSA in NY and she had some creative advice for me that might well work for you.

This is what she suggested I do.

Contact your Congressman

Speak to a “Case” staff person
- HD affects individuals cognitively
o Any evidence of disability & date
o HD is on SSA’s Compassionate Allowances list for conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments
- Share your story

Written timeline
? Retired in ___
? Disability granted ____


Jane Kogan, LMSW
Manager, Advocacy & Education
Huntington's Disease Society of America
505 8th Ave, Suite 902
New York, NY 10018
p: (212) 242-1968 extension 226
f: (212) 239-3430
JKogan@hdsa.org

I hope that Jane Kogan can help you, and that you get the discharge from the Parents PLUS loan for your daughter.

Hi Ranman,

Thanks for the information. I'm glad that your loan for your daughter was discharged. I met with the social worker at my COE Neurology office, and she drafted a letter that I am to send to the loan company. I'll try that first, since she worked so hard on it!

Then, if necessary, I'll contact Jane at HDSA and my congressman!

Hopefully, the letter will do the trick.

tellie

Well, here's an update on our Plus Loan TPD application - after a year and a half, it was rejected!

I'm not sure what our next step will be - if any. We just received a bill for $63,000 from the U.S. Department of Education, according to the bill we received. I went to the Nelnet website, and found "REJECTED" on our application.

I would follow your advice, and ask Jane Kogan, but she is not longer there! And the social worker at our center of excellence is gone, too!

Just to remind any lawyer-types out there, the PLUS loans we have for our daughter were in my husband's name, but I was the only one who made payments on them over the years. That was because my husband's income was always too low (and it still is). Sad to say, my disability is our major source of income. (He's self-employed/under-employed).

Any ideas?

Judy/tellie