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Returning Member
posted Jul 8, 2020 11:40:43 AM

Student loans and marriage

I owe a significant amount on student loans (like $60k) but qualify for IDR and $0 monthly payment right now as I am not working. 
My fiancé makes decent money (maybe $60-70k a year on a good year). It sounds like a lot but with a household of 5 and mortgage and utilities and everything it’s not. 
If we get married (the main reason we haven’t yet), will he be responsible for my student loans and them base the payment off his income? Cause we really can’t afford to have a couple hundred dollar a month extra payment. 
Can we qualify for a type of IDR and them not take his wages or taxes if we don’t qualify and can’t afford a payment based off of what they want? 

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1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Jul 8, 2020 3:13:39 PM

It depends.  Some lenders will consider only your income if you file your tax return using the Married Filing Separately (MFS) status and others will still include the income of your spouse.  

 

This can also be influenced by whether or not you live in a community property state.  

 

In most cases, his wages cannot be garnished for your debt but they maybe required to be considered for the calculation of the repayment plan.