Woman cannot divorce her husband until she pays $365,000: what happened

A woman who broke up with her husband back in 2010 cannot officially divorce him because of his student loans.

SSPDaily tells about it.

In 2002, Shannon Rowan, now 51, and her then-husband decided to combine their student loan balances into the Marital Joint Loan Consolidation Program, which Congress created to allow married couples to combine their balances and make payments at a single interest rate.

When they decided to divorce eight years later, they were unable to split their loans because Congress closed the program in 2006, making it impossible for them to pay their loans separately. As a result, the judge overseeing the divorce ordered Rowan to pay 18% of the balance, which at the time was about $98,000, and her ex-husband was ordered to pay 82% of that amount, since he owned most of the loans.

The agreement also stated that her ex-husband would make the payments and Shannon would reimburse him for her share.Although the woman's ex-husband made some payments, they were not consistent - and she was informed that her loan was in default status with a risk of wage garnishment if she did not update her payment account.Their combined student loan balance is now just under $365,000 due to the sharp increase in interest on the loans during periods when payments were not made.

This loan has caused her a number of problems. For example, when she tried to purchase a car, she was unable to do so due to the outstanding balance in default status. She is also unable to get a new credit card and said her parents are concerned that her inheritance will be confiscated because of her student loans.

"It's been a nightmare," she said. "It's just a constant problem."

Rowan has since remarried, and to help pay for her children's education, her husband had to take out federal student loans in his name, which allow parents to borrow up to the full cost of their child's education.

"When my eldest started college, I tried to get a parental loan, but I couldn't because of my outstanding debt. So my current husband registered all my children's student loans in his name," she said. "And we have a second son who is now studying at university, and the situation is the same. All the student loans are in my now husband's name. So it's been extremely difficult, and I want to make payments. I want to get out of default status. I went to college, I got my degree, I owe this money. I have no problem paying, but he has to do it."

Shannon is currently trying to get out of default. She hopes that the application to separate her student loan from her ex will become available as soon as possible so that she can finally close the case and officially divorce.