Help! Can You Put A Price On Love?

Can you put a price on love? The unfortunate answer, especially for many millennials trapped in student debt, is “you have to”.

Consider the plight of a Jennifer. She writes the “Moneyologist” Help! My fiancee has $90,000 in student loans. Should I call off the wedding?

From Jennifer to the Moneyologist

Dear Moneyologist,

I am in love with a man. We have been together for almost three years and are looking at the possibility of getting married. The one issue is that he has quite a bit of student loan debt. It amounts to about $90,000. He has had trouble paying this student debt. The Department of Education garnishes his wages, and he cannot own any property without the fear of having it foreclosed on because of his student loan debt.

If we are to get married, what would I be responsible for? Would my wages get garnished? Would my bank account be subjected to being frozen and money taken out of it? Could we have a joint bank account without the fear of that happening? If we were to jointly own a house would we still be in danger of foreclosure due to his student loan debt? Also, if we were to have a child would my husband be able to claim hardship and not have his wages garnished anymore?

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