missouri higher education

My husband has a garnishment for his student loans (we spent the last nine months rehabbing mine and now its out of default, yeah), Missouri garnishment is going from 10% to 15% and we want to start rehabbing his. They told us to send the garnishment adjustment form and an offer of repayment. We can afford to pay more than the 10% they currently garnish, but less than the 15% they would get with the new law. Would it be appropriate to make the offer or are we just shooting ourselves in the foot? They just received a good amount from our Federal tax return....

Hi msmadison, I went through the same thing with TX. And, I did choose to rehab. Now I listed all of our total living expenses....the person I was working with actually helped me think of every possible bill that I might have forgotten. And they did work with me to get a payment we could afford. Rehab is definitely the best way to start. However, a portion of our return is still being garnished. My husband has to file an injured spouse form each year to protect his share.

As to your taxes being garnished.....do you work also? If you work then you need to have your CPA file an injured spouse form on your behalf to at least protect some of you guy's return money. That will at least protect some of your tax return. If you yourself are not on these loans as a co-signer....then you can protect the amount of taxes due back to you.

This was what our CPA advised us to do. I hope I have helped some. Also Soaplady knows a lot about this stuff. I am sure she can help you!

Hello again....I am the 1 who responded just then...for some reason I keep getting signed out....puter problems.

I hope I helped a little bit...but, I can only tell you what we went through.

Soaplady was a Financial Advisor and is the true expert on consolidation and rehabbing. I am sure she will respond....she has helped many.

So watch for Soaplady and speak with your CPA to see if you guys qualify for an injured spouse protection....and, trust me you are not alone...many of us are struggling with the same thing. You can and will get through it.


Good Luck and God Bless!

moondancer, can I ask what bills you used that I may have forgotten in our living expenses. I filed injured spouse this year, but my husband makes a considerable amount more than I do so it didn't help much...

Gee whiz....I listed everything. Utilities, average grocery bills, car pymnt, medical bills...I have a lot of medical expenses though, our health ins.,our taxes on our home, our mortgage. The gentleman that was working with me told me to put down absolutely anything and everything that we have to pay to exist in a reasonable manner.

But he is just about the only one I have dealt with so far that was that nice. But, he got me to get my husband to sign this note....as I am not able to work and therefore have no income...and that is how Tx. was able to grab our entire refund that year. I had been informed by the very same gentleman helping me to rehab that if I did this....I would not have my taxes garnished. Well, I found out the hard way that the CA itself cannot legally make such promises.

I am in trouble due to a very serious health issue that makes it impossible for me to work. I have been under Dr.'s care for 7 yrs. now. At the same time I became ill...my husband fell off of his truck and almost tore his arm off. We lost everything.

Now my loans have nearly doubled due to interest and penalties.....in just under 4 yrs. I myself am seeking some legal advice....before I sign anything else...just to make sure I completely understand all of the fine print. You will notice a link at the bottom of my page for the NACA. They are attorneys who are currently lobbying congress for changes concerning student loan collection practices. and they list attorneys that specialize in Student Loan help for every state.

But I can tell you...that if there is anyway that you can get this back into rehab....it is far easier than what I am facing.

I would definitely do it before the new law goes into effect. But, please read everything very carefully, and keep everything very well documented as to what you are promised.

Do you know if you can legally record the phone calls from these poeple in your state? If not....I posted a link somewhere the other day and I will be glad to give it to you.

Here is the link hun....I found several sites where you can search the for the law concerning how to legally record any calls.
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...call-laws.html

You can file your own injured spouse form....

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8379.pdf

There are no major laws or changes coming in the near future. There is legislation that will affect lenders practices, but it will not affect the borrowers.

On recording CA's, especially student loans. They are an especially useful tool, particularly when it comes to fdcpa violations. Even if one party recording is not legal in your state, the guarantors will listen to it. So will the ombudsman. They are not permissable in court though, so you cannot make it grounds for a lawsuit. However, promises that a CA makes are not binding on the guarantor. Guarantors can be vague when it comes to getting taxes back. Some make very specific requirements during a very short timeframe. Since the CA does not place the lien, they have no absolute way of knowing 100% if a tax return will be seized.

See I told you she would be along and have lots of info. I apologize Soaplady if I mislead by responding incorrectly concerning the new laws....I was referring to her question concerning the law in MO. So I hope that didn't interfere with your response concerning that law in her state.

Thank you for all your help, one more quick question..
My student loan was successfully rehabbed on April 3, 2007 they mailed a letter stating that they would not take my tax return and if I expected a refund to wait 4-6 weeks before mailing. We filed our taxes April 9, 2007 the day before I received this letter. Can I contest if they do take the part of the return I filed injured spouse on?

Since your loan was paid off and out of default before your filed, you should get your tax return back. However, it may be delayed if the guarantor does not remove the lien quick enough. It might be directed to the guarantor who in turn will send you a check.

when we went up to www.irs.gov to check on the date to expect our return...we found we were listed under code 1201. Many poeple are getting this code 1201 reply and there are a ton of reasons posted all over the internet as to why an individual recieved thier 1201 status. But, we called, and we were told that our refund is being delayed for up to 8 wks. due to our injured spouse form. And, that is why we got labeled 1201. Not much help...but you might just go up to http:www.irs.gov and click under contact us and check the status of your expected return date and see if you have a specail code also. Good Luck!