Our Goal.

Our goal is to successfully separate our Spousal/Joint Consolidation Loans to which we have been severally liable.  Our first priority was to have the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act passed into law. Now that it is law, our current goal is to insure Many of us are seeking freedom from former spouses that are uncooperative and/or abusive. This bill does not provision student loan forgiveness, but rather allows two comakers of a Joint Spousal Consolidation Loan to split the loan into individual loans based on respective original loan portions, thereby granting freedom of choice and equitable access to financial options and freedom from former spouses. ​

What is a Spousal/Joint Consolidation Loan? 

A joint or spousal consolidation loan, today, is a living artifact of the Joint/Spousal Consolidation Loan product line that spanned 1992 through June 30, 2006.  In 1992, Congressional amendments to the Higher Education Act instated these loans that allowed married couples to consolidate their loans together and be held equally and severally liable for the loan.  For struggling couples this seemed like a good option because it simplified repayment into a single payment and allowed entrance to graduated, income-sensitive and income-based repayment plans.

The term 'severally liable' means that each spouse is a cowriter of the loan​ and, as such, both cowriters would be bound together by the loan, even in divorce.  It instated equal responsibility despite portion of loan balance or change in marital status.  

In June 2006, the 109th Congress struck Joint/Spousal Loans from the Higher Education Act to avert risk to the Department of Education, servicers, and investors due to high divorce rates, leading to high default rates on the loans.  In this, however, they did not address existing loans,  inform borrowers of how their loans terms were changing, provide a means to opt in or out,  or address policy or procedure surrounding the existing loans.  In effect, these loans have burdened borrowers with incredibly high risk with no latitude for remedy in a literal policy vacuum.  Further,  neither the Department of Education nor Federal Student Aid (FSA) have legitimate means to track spousal consolidation loans, making them a ghost amongst all other student loans, a relic from the past that is misunderstood and largely forgotten with tantamount documentation or evaluation over that past 15 plus years.

Today, spousal consolidation debtors (FFEL and Direct Loan) face a myriad of issues on top of the ones they share with the mainstream of student loan holders.  These issues rise from issues born from being severally liable.   In the case of domestic abuse, victims remain financially shackled to their former abusers only through these loans.  Likewise, for divorced couples, an individual remains tied to their uncooperative spouse only through these loans.  Neither lawyers nor courts can separate these loans in divorce cases or even bankruptcies. 

Both parties in the loan must sign off on any income-based repayment and/or any forbearance. Each partner must share financial information and must agree on the phone if asking for deferments. In the case of domestic abuse victims, this is not only insane but also it is dangerous. 

Established in 2021

Born out of a group of public servants experiencing issues while seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) under the Department of Educations PSLF waiver, this group seeks to assemble and organize Spousal/Joint Consolidation Loan debtors in order to collectively provide support, explore various avenues for loan relief specific to Spousal/Joint Consolidations, solicit and influence legislative support for the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act, find and ally with various student loan advocacies and to collectively take action towards the separation of our Spousal Consolidation Loans.

The group is open to married couples and divorced individuals with Federal Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan Program loans who seek to separate their loans.

Members can expect this group to be action oriented, involved in regular teleconference meetings, focus groups, information collection and surveys and various other activities that serve to fulfill the group mission and goals.​

Our Team

Chris Alldredge
Founder
​Executive Director

Kristen Alldredge
Strategic Storyteller
​Principal Researcher

Amy Bohlen
Community Outreach Coordinator

Krista Miller
Community Outreach Coordinator

SpousalConsolidation.DoUsPart!