Update: My Father Left Me With $73k Worth Of Debt Without Me Knowing
Tldr for original post: Graduated in 2024 thinking I had $10k in federal student loans, but recently found out my father took out an extra $48k in private loans under my name (with my mom as cosigner) without fully explaining or disclosing the details. Yes, I signed these myself but I was 17 or 18 at the time and had full trust in him. I didnt know how much he took out but he told me that he would pay them off. I now know that he never planned to do so. He used the money for non-tuition expenses and left me with a total of $58k in student loan debt and 15k in credit card debt. My mom recently left him due to emotional abuse, and while he's still paying for our rent and car, I need advice on handling this debt without taking legal action against him, as we're still financially reliant on him for now. Starting a better-paying job in August but need a plan in the meantime.
UPDATE: after reading all the responses on my original post and talking with some close friends of mine. I see that the best thing to do is file against him. I brought up the topic to my mother last night and she (being very religious) said "no don't do that. God wouldn't want you to harm another person like this, let alone your own father." She said that she'd rather take on the private student loan debt by refinancing and transferring it to her but honestly that wouldn't remove the credit card debt and it'd leave her with the debt instead. I don't think that's a good choice. I think that if I file against my dad, my mother will kick me out so if I file, I will already be prepared to move out. That being said, I currently only have 2k saved up from work and that will not be enough to move out on my own. I'd need more money to get a car, place, and overall survive. I just moved to the city im in less than a year ago so I don't have many people to rely on here. My boyfriend offered to let me live at his families house but I'd still need to be able to travel to and from work and I don't wanna overstay my welcome. I also don't have the option to move because I have to work in the state of Florida to qualify for my university's tuition reimbursement. In March, I have over 14k of tuition reimbursement coming in. My best bet would be to wait till March and then leave. It breaks my heart to do this because I could be disowned by every person in my family but I can't let myself live with this debt. Prior to this, I thought I only had 10k worth of debt and with that I could've easily lived a good life and paid it off quickly. I'm still not 100% set on this decision but I do realise that it is the logical thing to do. I want to speak with my sibling to see how much debt my father put them in and to see if theyd want to file too. I also want to speak with a lawyer or someone more knowledgeable than me about this. Does anyone have any advice based on this update?
Update #2 in response to the comments I've gotten: My mom’s religious comments are obviously ridiculous, but I’m mostly looking for help with how to file or what to expect.
I have records showing 23k of refunds went to a bank account he controlled. I didn’t see a dime of that money and i think he used it to pay for A VACATION ngl...
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