I’m 60 years old. Got my masters degree finally. Now i cannot find a job. No one would hire me. I applied 1000 applications. Still no luck. I have $10,000 student loan. How to handle this? I live with my daughter in her house and she provides for me.
Question: will the government come after my daughter to pay for me?
What will happen if I don’t pay?
What is the best course of actions?
Short answer: No
Your daughter is not liable for the student loan debt unless she co-signed for it. Also, she can not inherit the debt, but the government CAN make a claim on your estate and take it out of her inheritance (if there is any).
Consequences of not paying are worse if it is a government loan, because (of course) the Government gave itself special "powers" for collecting debt owed to itself.
It will hurt your credit, and will not come off your credit report until you pay it, unlike other negative credit entries which go away after 7 years. This debt also is very hard/impossible to dismiss even in bankruptcy.
They can garnish your wages, tax refund, or social security check.
They can take you to court and sue you for the money (more unlikely with Government loans)
Question: will the government come after my daughter to pay for me?
They cannot unless she co-signed your loan.
Now, if your loan were to be submitted to a debt collector then that debt collector will use any and all tactics to extract money from you or your family. They don't care who pays as long as they receive money. Even if she's not legally liable there is nothing stopping the debt collector from making her feel otherwise.
Others have answered the "can they go after my daughter" half of the question (tl;dr: only if she co-signed). I'll address the "what should I do" half here.
Assuming you have federal student loans, there are a bunch of options that might be available, including reduced payments, deferment, or forbearance. This site has more info, including contact details.
From what I've heard anecdotally, the federal student loan people (and, weirdly, IRS people) will typically bend over backwards to figure out a plan that works for both the student and the government, if you're proactive. Contact the student loan people before you miss a(nother?) payment and ask them to help you figure out what your options are.
Even if you have private student loans, the loaning entity is likely to prefer working out a payment plan that works for both of you than for you to just not pay and hope for the best. It's not as good a position to be in, but the worst they can do is whatever they were going to do if you just didn't make payments.
This depends on who is trying to collect the debt.
Legally, you can not created debt for your daughter through any sort of contract or business dealings. Your student loans are not inherited, though they may take away from anything your daughter would have otherwise inherited.
In the real world, bill collectors in the US are known for frequently breaking laws. It would not be surprising to me if an organization purchased the debt, and then try to harass or con your daughter into paying a debt she does not owe.
