I know that every loan is different, so you have to read the terms and conditions of your loan to see if disability applies to forgiveness. Good luck - I hope it does for you.

We recently applied for this for my husband, who is disabled because of bipolar disorder. We don't know if he has been approved yet.

Lynne is correct in every loan is different and you have to read up on what your loans require and if this is even an option for you.

For my husband's loans we had to have his doctor fill out a pretty extensive form about his disability and it had to state that he was permanently and totally disabled.

I hope this information helps a little.

Mine were Stafford Loans which I think are Federal loans. I kept using the exemption clauses until I figured there was no way I could ever pay them back as I was totally disabled. I had a short form my neurologist filled out stating I was permanently and totally disabled. I don't remember having to jump through that many hoops but all my loans were forgiven over a short period of time. This is way before my MS dx.and after getting SSD in 1994.

Much has changed since 1994. One of the most important things is that that statute of limitations for student loans no longer exists...you cannot wait it out, so to speak.

Most loans do have a disability forgiveness program. so are more stringent than others. They will not accept the fact that you are on SSDI as proof that you are "disabled." Because SSDI puts a lot of importance on the ability to do your normal job first, and then considers the tranferability of skills, education, etc second, their determination alone is not enough for the student loan corporations.

If you are approved, the amout of the forgiveness will be considered "income," and you will pay taxes on a certain portion of it. The explanation of this was that it is money that you have, get to keep, as opposed to paying your loan. Of course, the fact that for some they are applying because they simply do not have the money, or that they may have gotten ill before they used any of, or finished the educational program, these are not taken into consideration.

Be sure to keep up with payments or get a forbearance during the process, if you fall behind, remember, student loan lenders can and WILL garnish your disability payments.

Oh, a couple other things...if you do fill out the paperwork, be sure to follow all the instructions exactly, and ask that your doctor do the same. Check it all before you send it in. They will return it for any space left blank and the instructions state that abbreviations cannot be used, and yes, they will send it back if your doctor refers to your illness/dx as "MS." So remind them to write it out, also things like ADL for "average daily living," that will get returned, even if something has been written out in the same sentence or in a previous one, just one abbreviation and that will hold up the process.

Thank goodness my loans were forgiven in 1998 before things changed. A doctor statement declaring I was totally and permanently disabled is what they wanted. Not my SSD status. I still have a copy of the form letter. I keep copies of everything,

For me to get my SSD benefits I had to be declared unable to work any job. Now, my Long Term Disability wanted to know if I could work a similar job then they move down the line. All my reward money went to them without paying any taxes. I did pay on my loans as far as I could while taking care of two sons. Like I said, thank goodness it was in 1998 were they were more flexible.

My loans were forgiven in 1999, six years after I was making payments. I had about half left to pay. I never have heard about taxes or the forgiven amount being viewed as income? But if these were private loans its handled very differently than govt. loans. As others have said you need to check with the source of the loan

Mine were Stafford also I believe. My doctor had to state I was permanently disabled and unable to work. I have never been in a position that I have to not been able to pay money back. Despite being ill I took money out of my IRA to pay medical bills. It killed me to have to do this but the reality was, living in poverty, I would never be able to it pay it off.

It was very easy for me in 1999 and I hope its the same for you.

web links with good info that covers it:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2002657_loan-discharged-forgiven.html

http://www.nls.org/benefits/stulndis.htm

http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/loan.cancellation.discharge.html

Melanie

Question,
When applying for loan forgiveness due to disability, there's a stipulation about income. "You receive annual earnings from employment that exceed the Poverty Guideline amount for a family of two in your state, regardless of your actual family size;" Ok, so that's for the loan holder, right? Meaning, my husband can make more than Poverty Guideline Amount, right? I owe 87,000 in student loans because I went to a private college and the interest has been building and killing me. I'm currently a special education teacher and trying to figure all this out, if/when I can no longer work. Hopefully that is never.

I think this could be the truth, but you need to check this information to ensure yourself, at least to not be fraud. As I know this could be discussed with the company you took the loan. More than that there are tons of other companies that probably will tell you if they have such an option. I advice you to go ahead and check this information by yourself. You can find here https://credit-10.com/nl/ more information about some of the loan companies, and you will be able to find all the information you need