May 28, 2011 – 4:16 pm | by admin
Question by LiLi: Direct Loans Total & Permanent Disability Student Loan Disharge Question?
Direct Loans sent me a letter saying my disabled daughter qualifies for a conditional discharge and to qualify for a final discharge, she must meet the requirements for three years beginning on the date she became permanently disabled as certified by her doctor. The doctor certified her permanently disabled over three years ago on the form but when I called Direct Loans they said they used to go by that but now its three years since when the form was signed by the doctor so that makes it five years from the actual date the doctor said she became permanently disabled. I feel they should honor the letter they sent me but what can I do its the government and we are poverty line poor! What do you think?
BTW, I finally found online “As of July 1, 2008, doctors are no longer required to certify the date that your disability began. Instead, the doctor only has to certify that you are totally and permanently disabled as of the date of application for discharge. [The doctor filled the form on December of 2008 and signed she had become permanently disabled in 2006. We were given the old form which asked when] … The Department issued a new application form on August 16, 2010. Borrowers that applied after July 1, 2010, but before the new form was available or who otherwise use the old form, should be evaluated under the new standards.” [I just feel they should have explained it better then give us old forms with very different info or should have honored the old info.
I’ve just seen online a lot of people giving out wrong info that to get such a discharge, its 3 years form the date your doctor certifies you disabled, IT’S NOT ANYMORE, ITS WHEN THE DOCTOR SIGNS THE FORM AND YOU MAIL IT IN. SO THE DATE YOU DOCTOR SIGNS IT, ITS 3 YEARS FROM THAT (I REPEAT, NOT ANYMORE FROM THE DATE YOU BECAME PERMANENTLY DISABLED).
My daughter had an old form that the doctor was told to list when the permanent disability began and the conditional letter response they sent her was old form so it said the three years goes back to that date the doctor said she became permanently disabled.
http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/loan-cancellation/disability-and-death/
Best answer:
Answer by Anonymous
Honestly, it doesn’t matter how you feel the federal government SHOULD conduct their federal student loan program. This is the law and when the local friendly politicians wrote and re-wrote the law, this is how they worded it.
If you don’t like it you can call your local friendly politician and complain. But it’s honestly like calling to the IRS and complaining about taxes (and just as effective. LOL). These are federal student loans and there isn’t much you can do about it.
In the mean time, I’m assuming your daughter is STILL disabled and will continue to be disabled no matter when whatever heck form was signed by whom and when. This means she can wait it out. If not, she needs to get the checkbook out.
And they don’t say this in the letter she just got (but it will be in the next one), even AFTER the three years is up and the loan is fully discharged, she will STILL be monitored and if they decide she isn’t disabled any longer they can still make her repay.
Good luck.
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Tags: Direct, Disability, Disharge, Loan, loans, Permanent, Question, student, total