FAFSA Parent Plus loan liability after divorce - only one parent co-signed

The Parent Plus loan is legally binding only to the parent who signed for it. The federal government will only pursue the parent who signed the Master Promissory Note as the borrower. Your father's name isn't on the loan documents, so he has no legal obligation to the Department of Education regardless of marital status at the time of signing.

depends on ur state. some states have community property laws which means debts incurred during marriage are shared responsibilities even after divorce. u should have ur mom check w/ a divorce attorney about this

I WENT THROUGH THIS EXACT SITUATION!!! My parents divorced while I was in college and my dad was the ONLY signer on my Parent Plus loans. The divorce court tried to make my mom pay half but she fought it and WON because federal loans only recognize the person who signed!!! Your dad is WRONG and trying to get out of responsibility that isn't his!!!

To clarify a few points: 1. Only the parent who signed the Parent PLUS MPN is legally responsible to the federal government 2. The divorce court may separately decide how debt is divided between spouses, but this doesn't change federal loan obligations 3. For future FAFSA applications (2026-2027), you'll report information for the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months, or the parent who provided more financial support if you lived with both equally Remember that any private agreement between your parents in their divorce decree doesn't change who the Department of Education considers responsible for the loan.

I tried calling Federal Student Aid for WEEKS to get this exact same question answered when my parents split up. Always busy signals or disconnected after waiting forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual human at FSA in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed what others here are saying - only the signing parent is legally responsible to the Department of Education, regardless of what happens in divorce court.

Your dad could be talking about the divorce settlement, not the federal loan itself. My parents got divorced last year and even though only my mom signed my ParentPLUS loans, their divorce settlement included an agreement where my dad would help pay them off. That's between them though - the govt still only comes after my mom if payments aren't made.

wait i thought parent plus loans aren't even considered for fafsa eligibility? why are you worried about future fafsa applications?

Summarizing what everyone has said: 1. Only your mom is legally responsible to the Department of Education 2. The divorce court may create a separate agreement between your parents 3. For future FAFSAs, you'll report the parent you live with more (or who provides more support) 4. Your FAFSA SAI calculation will change if you're only reporting one parent's income instead of two I'd recommend having your mom login to studentaid.gov to confirm she's the only one on the loan and to understand her repayment options going forward.

I'm going through something similar with my parents' separation. One thing that helped me was getting everything in writing from my loan servicer about who's actually responsible. You can also check your mom's Federal Student Aid account to see all the loan details and payment history. The divorce might actually help with your future FAFSA if you end up reporting just one parent's income instead of both - could potentially increase your aid eligibility depending on their individual financial situations.