Liberal Austin

Hi every one,

I am a foreigner married to a US citizen. I am a very responsible
person financially. I do not buy any expensive thing on credit and
spend according to my means. I do not have any significant loan.. I
even have bought my cars on cash.

My wife is a student. She has $400,000 Student Loans debt. Some times I
help her financially, but she is living off of her loans, and waiting
to graduate. She has not made more than $100 since I married her. So we
have only one income.

To my horror, I have recently discovered that in US, just by virtue of
marriage, not only I share the assets with my wife (she has no asset
what so ever), I share her hefty loan as well. I love my wife, but
$400,000 is a dreadful amount. I am just worried if she dies tomorrow
by a car accident or some thing, how on earth I will pay this loan.
However, I will mention that I never co-signed any loan with her.

Is this right that I am liable for her loan, while her contribution to
our assets is almost none? Can I have some post marriage agreement so
that I won't be liable for her debts?

Any advice is helpful.

Ian-Mstm

> Hi every one,
>
> I am a foreigner married to a US citizen. I am a very responsible
> person financially. I do not buy any expensive thing on credit and
> spend according to my means. I do not have any significant loan.. I
> even have bought my cars on cash.
>
> My wife is a student. She has $400,000 Student Loans debt. Some times
> I
> help her financially, but she is living off of her loans, and waiting
> to graduate. She has not made more than $100 since I married her. So
> we
> have only one income.
>
> To my horror, I have recently discovered that in US, just by virtue of
> marriage, not only I share the assets with my wife (she has no asset
> what so ever), I share her hefty loan as well. I love my wife, but
> $400,000 is a dreadful amount. I am just worried if she dies tomorrow
> by a car accident or some thing, how on earth I will pay this loan.
> However, I will mention that I never co-signed any loan with her.
>
> Is this right that I am liable for her loan, while her contribution to
> our assets is almost none? Can I have some post marriage agreement so
> that I won't be liable for her debts?
>
> Any advice is helpful.

You say your wife has no assets... in fact, she has a $400,000 education
which is likely far more valuable than any automobile you own... it
doesn't depreciate, it can't be stolen, lost, or damaged, and will be
with her for the rest of her life. I think you need to rethink your
position - not only with respect to finances, but with respect to
equality within a marriage. If you truly believe that you and your wife
should be on an equal financial footing... well, you might as well file
for divorce now and cut your losses.

Ian

Noorah101

> You say your wife has no assets... in fact, she has a $400,000
> education which is likely far more valuable than any automobile you
> own... it doesn't depreciate, it can't be stolen, lost, or damaged,
> and will be with her for the rest of her life. I think you need to
> rethink your position - not only with respect to finances, but with
> respect to equality within a marriage. If you truly believe that you
> and your wife should be on an equal financial footing... well, you
> might as well file for divorce now and cut your losses.
>
> Ian

I don't know if there are different types of student loans, or if times
have changed since my experience, but in 1987 my husband and I both had
student loans outstanding that we were making payments on. He passed
away that year, and his student loan was automatically paid off,
released, cleared. I did not have to pay off his student loan. I had
to continue making my own payments on my own loan. However, I was
responsible for his credit card debt (whether my name was on the card or
not), because Arizona is a mutual property state. Fortunately, the life
insurance payment I received covered these sudden expenses.

I think it's wise for you to think of these things, and to prepare
accordingly. It would be difficult to be saddled with sudden payments,
if you didn't have any death benefit in place (although if that did
happen, I'm sure they would work out a payment schedule with you).
Something you do need to look into, in my opinion.

Best Wishes,
Rene

-Folinskyinla

> Hi every one,
>
> I am a foreigner married to a US citizen. I am a very responsible
> person financially. I do not buy any expensive thing on credit and
> spend according to my means. I do not have any significant loan.. I
> even have bought my cars on cash.
>
> My wife is a student. She has $400,000 Student Loans debt. Some times
> I
> help her financially, but she is living off of her loans, and waiting
> to graduate. She has not made more than $100 since I married her. So
> we
> have only one income.
>
> To my horror, I have recently discovered that in US, just by virtue of
> marriage, not only I share the assets with my wife (she has no asset
> what so ever), I share her hefty loan as well. I love my wife, but
> $400,000 is a dreadful amount. I am just worried if she dies tomorrow
> by a car accident or some thing, how on earth I will pay this loan.
> However, I will mention that I never co-signed any loan with her.
>
> Is this right that I am liable for her loan, while her contribution to
> our assets is almost none? Can I have some post marriage agreement so
> that I won't be liable for her debts?
>
> Any advice is helpful.

Hi:

Your liability is different from state to state. I know that in
California you are NOT liable for her loans as a general rule. However,
don't go on what you "hear." Check it out carefully -- the law can be
complicated on this one.

AdobePinon

> Hi:
>
> Your liability is different from state to state. I know that in
> California you are NOT liable for her loans as a general rule.
> However, don't go on what you "hear." Check it out carefully -- the
> law can be complicated on this one.

I've always heard that (federal) student loan liability does not
transfer. No first hand experience though.

Ouch. For your reference, that's about $1700 a month at 3% and
$2400 a month at 6% interest over 30 years. You certainly need to
do some planning.

Jenney & Mark

> Hi every one,
>
> I am a foreigner married to a US citizen. I am a very responsible
> person financially. I do not buy any expensive thing on credit and
> spend according to my means. I do not have any significant loan.. I
> even have bought my cars on cash.
>
> My wife is a student. She has $400,000 Student Loans debt. Some times
> I
> help her financially, but she is living off of her loans, and waiting
> to graduate. She has not made more than $100 since I married her. So
> we
> have only one income.
>
> To my horror, I have recently discovered that in US, just by virtue of
> marriage, not only I share the assets with my wife (she has no asset
> what so ever), I share her hefty loan as well. I love my wife, but
> $400,000 is a dreadful amount. I am just worried if she dies tomorrow
> by a car accident or some thing, how on earth I will pay this loan.
> However, I will mention that I never co-signed any loan with her.
>
> Is this right that I am liable for her loan, while her contribution to
> our assets is almost none? Can I have some post marriage agreement so
> that I won't be liable for her debts?
>
> Any advice is helpful.

First of all, am I the only one who is absolutely gobsmacked that anyone
could have $400,000 in student loans? How long has she been attending
university? And WHICH university? I mean, I know college is expensive,
but I don't know of any university that costs $100,000/year to attend.

Secondly, why is she "waiting to graduate"? Is she actively attending
classes, doing her coursework, fulfilling her credits, etc? If she's
just "waiting to graduate" then why doesn't she apply some of her
education to a job and bring home some income? Even a part-time job at
federal minimum wage would bring home $100 in about a week or two.

~ Jenney

Jen_andreson

> First of all, am I the only one who is absolutely gobsmacked that
> anyone could have $400,000 in student loans? How long has she been
> attending university? And WHICH university? I mean, I know college is
> expensive, but I don't know of any university that costs $100,000/year
> to attend.
>
> Secondly, why is she "waiting to graduate"? Is she actively attending
> classes, doing her coursework, fulfilling her credits, etc? If she's
> just "waiting to graduate" then why doesn't she apply some of her
> education to a job and bring home some income? Even a part-time job at
> federal minimum wage would bring home $100 in about a week or two.
>
> ~ Jenney

As the others say, do check out your state laws and read the fine print.

Also, as the others asked...where did she go to school and what did she
study? Does she have a good chance of finding employment? Now?

I know people who went to ivy league schools/law school and their
education cost nowhere near that amout! Not that it was inexpensive, but
nowhere close to 400K.

You'll want to see a financial advisor, too, as he loans will generally
become due about 6 months after she graduates. There are some tax
credits and such for the interest, but you'll want someone to review all
of this carefully.

Jenney & Mark

> As the others say, do check out your state laws and read the
> fine print.
>
> Also, as the others asked...where did she go to school and what did
> she study? Does she have a good chance of finding employment? Now?
>
> I know people who went to ivy league schools/law school and their
> education cost nowhere near that amout! Not that it was inexpensive,
> but nowhere close to 400K.
>
> You'll want to see a financial advisor, too, as he loans will
> generally become due about 6 months after she graduates. There are
> some tax credits and such for the interest, but you'll want someone to
> review all of this carefully.

My thoughts exactly. Even if tuition, room and board cost $50k/year,
you'd have to attend for 8 years to rack up $400k in student loan debt
-- and that's if you're not paying one penny out-of-pocket. It just
doesn't make any sense.

~ Jenney

Hcj1440

> My thoughts exactly. Even if tuition, room and board cost $50k/year,
> you'd have to attend for 8 years to rack up $400k in student loan debt
> -- and that's if you're not paying one penny out-of-pocket. It just
> doesn't make any sense.
>
> ~ Jenney

Bachelors + Masters + PhD could easily add up to 8 years or more. Some
people are professional students. I know some.

Meauxna

> You say your wife has no assets... in fact, she has a $400,000
> education which is likely far more valuable than any automobile you
> own... it doesn't depreciate, it can't be stolen, lost, or damaged,
> and will be with her for the rest of her life. I think you need to
> rethink your position - not only with respect to finances, but with
> respect to equality within a marriage. If you truly believe that you
> and your wife should be on an equal financial footing... well, you
> might as well file for divorce now and cut your losses.
>
> Ian

I think it's that last bit that he's worried about.

The asset gets knocked over by the bus with her.