Litigation

Student Loan Debt Questions for 19-26 Year Olds, Alternatives to "Cash Now"

By John Darer

Are you 19-26 years old with a structured settlement that was set up when you were a child and now have mountains of student loan debt?

Are you the parent of a 19-26 years old with a structured settlement that was set up when your child was a minor and now he or she has mountains of student loan debt?

Have you been approached by a company to sell your structured settlement to help you pay off the debt?

Have you been up late at night and thought about contacting J.G. Wentworth, Woodbridge Investments, Peachtree Settlement Funding, Imperial Structured Settlements or Stone Street Capital?

If you are struggling with student loan debt, are you aware that there are viable alternatives to getting into bed with any of these "cash now" pushers?

1. Defer or forbearance ? you may be able to delay making payments up to six years due to unemployment or other economic hardships.  In some cases, the government will continue making your interest payments, but in others, any interest can be added to the loan balance.

2. Extending the term ? you can lower you monthly loan payments significantly by going say from a ten to twenty year term calculation, but recognize that you'll be paying a lot more interest overall.

3. Alternate Repayment ? beginning July 1, those with federal student loans will be able to participate in the "income-based repayment program," which limits payment amounts based on your income, and may even allow you to write off substantial parts of the loan principal.

Source: New York Times

Full post as published by Structured Settlements 4Real on April 19, 2009 (boomark / email).