Marcia DeOliveira-Longinetti's 23-year-old son was murdered in 2015 and the case remains unsolved. On top of dealing with the loss, she had to sort through her son's records and belongings to help the police. She was also left to take calls in relation to her son's bills. One of these included her son's student loans.
Marcia DeOliveira-Longinetti turned to the New Jersey agency for help about her son's student loans and was assured via a call from the administrator that it should be settled, given the situation. However, she soon received a letter from the agency that added insult to injury.
According to the New York Times, the letter stated that her son's death "does not meet the threshold for loan forgiveness." As a co-signer, Marcia DeOliveira-Longinetti will still be forced to pay up her son's student loans. It didn't matter that he was murdered or that the mom lost a son.
Even death may not be a reprieve from New Jersey's student loan program https://t.co/grlY7d7wUW pic.twitter.com/oMhuJYbyoi
— NYT Metro Desk (@NYTMetro) July 3, 2016
Raw Story reports that the mom is still expected to pay $180 monthly for at least 92 more payments. She said the money isn't the problem, but the system is unfair. In some states, such as Massachusetts, student loan forgiveness is automatic in cases of death and disability. But unfortunately for Marcia DeOliveira-Longinetti, the New Jersey agency is known for its high interest rates and rigid set up, per AOL. It's also known for being unbending and for coming after its borrowers for delinquent payments.
New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie, has not enforced changes in the student loan system and leaves the board to oversee matters. As it remains, the state is still collecting over $2 billion debts, which probably explains their stance on student loans.
The system in New Jersey is receiving a lot of criticisms about profiting from the students. The only other solution that the state has for students it so avail of life insurance so that, in case something happens to them, their co-signers are not left in a difficult bind, per Zero Hedge.
