Student Loan Default Brings Devastating Garnishment Consequences

Many of the over 40 million borrowers who took out student loans to finance their education are currently facing severe hardships in repaying that debt. Nearly one in every five borrowers who went into repayment on their student loans in 2011 have found themselves in default as a result of a poor economy. The repayment period which starts the clock for default usually occurs about six (6) months after graduation. Most student loans have a grace period after graduation where it is assumed that the borrowers are searching for employment and are unable to pay. Once the repayment period begins, the demands for monthly student loan payments are initiated by loan servicers and the loan payments become due regardless of whether the borrower has successfully obtained gainful employment.

Default occurs when a borrower’s student loan account is at least two hundred and seventy (270) days overdue. Once a notice of default is sent to the borrower, serious penalties can ensue if the borrower does not immediately cure the default by paying the overdue amount(s) in full. Garnishment is arguably the most painful consequence of default. Garnishment occurs when the government seizes a portion of the borrower’s paychecks (also known as “wage garnishment”), or Social Security checks or withholds the borrower’s or the borrower’s spouses tax returns.

Borrowers in default or who are teetering on the edge of default should imagine their paychecks suddenly being up to 25% lower than they normally expect. This the wage garnishment that can occur if the borrower does not act immediately upon receiving a default notice to prevent the garnishment from being imposed. Garnishment may be imposed without a hearing or court proceeding. It is the borrower’s responsibility to request a hearing to argue why garnishment should not be imposed.

Student Loan Law Group consists of licensed attorneys who have the ability to represent borrowers in default at hearings to request a garnishment prevention or end of an existing garnishment. Debt relief agencies rarely employ attorneys. Therefore, unlike Student Loan Law Group, they cannot give borrowers in default legal advice on how to escape or fight the garnishment. Student Loan Law Group may advise borrowers of their rights and assist them in resolving garnishment problems swiftly through rehabilitation plans that cure the default. For more information on preventing or ending garnishment, call 888-843-1706 to speak with an attorney from Student Loan Law Group.