Finance and Law

5 Things Parents Should Know About Cosigning a Student Loan

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Most students do not qualify to receive private students or other types of loans on their own&period; Therefore&comma; you may be asked to cosign on your son or daughter&&num;8217&semi;s loan application&comma; and there are several things that you should know before agreeing to do so&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">What Does It Mean To Be a Cosigner&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you cosign on any type of loan document&comma; you agree to make payments to the lender if the primary borrower fails to do so&period; Doing so provides the bank or credit union that is making the loan with a greater level of assurance that it will get its money back&period; According to a recent Ascent Funding blog&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;cosigners need to meet specific credit related eligibility requirements&comma; including sufficient income levels&period; In addition&comma; to the credit hurdles&comma; some prospective cosigners may be hesitant to risk their <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;student-loans-affect-credit&sol;">credit for your student loan<&sol;a>&period; International students may face the challenge of finding a US citizen who’ll apply when it comes to finding a cosigner&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>The Loan Will Appear on Your Credit Report<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It is important to understand that any student loan that you cosign for will appear on your credit report&period; This means that other lenders or interested parties will see the loan balance and repayment status when running a financial background check&period; Furthermore&comma; any late or missed payments will likely have the same negative impact on your credit score as they would if you were the primary borrower&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Student Loans Generally Can&&num;8217&semi;t Be Erased Through Bankruptcy<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Unlike credit card or medical debts&comma; student loan balances are rarely discharged through bankruptcy unless it would cause a financial hardship&period; However&comma; even if <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;ascentstudentloans&period;com&sol;independent&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">private student loans with cosigner<&sol;a> are discharged in a Chapter 7 proceeding&comma; that ruling only applies to the primary borrower&period; As the cosigner&comma; you are still responsible for making payments to the lender per the terms of the promissory note&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>There Is No Guarantee That You&&num;8217&semi;ll Be Released as a Cosigner<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It isn&&num;8217&semi;t uncommon for cosigners to be dropped from a loan after the primary borrower makes 12 or more consecutive timely payments&period; Alternatively&comma; your son or daughter may ask that you be dropped from the loan at some point during the repayment period&period; However&comma; you generally have no say as to whether or not this actually happens&period; In some cases&comma; a lender may require you to remain as a cosigner until the balance is paid in full regardless of your child&&num;8217&semi;s payment history or credit score&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>You Could Be Jeopardizing Your Ability to Retire Comfortably<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Private student lenders generally cannot take money out of retirement accounts to recoup the money that they are owed&period; However&comma; if you make withdrawals from an IRA or 401&lpar;k&rpar; to pay bills or other expenses&comma; a lender may be able to seize that money as soon as it enters your bank account&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Therefore&comma; you might be faced with a scenario in which you can&&num;8217&semi;t retire because you won&&num;8217&semi;t be able to safely shield your funds from a student loan company&period; Alternatively&comma; you might be left with less money to pay bills or expenses because a portion of your retirement savings is being garnished&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">As a parent&comma; you may feel responsible for covering some or all of the cost of obtaining a college degree&period; However&comma; it is important to understand the potential consequences that come with putting your name on a private student loan repayment agreement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel is a Digital Marketing Consultant and professional Blogger. He has 16+ years experience in SEO, SMO, SEM, Online reputation management, Affiliated Marketing and Content Marketing.

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