What will happen if I stop paying my private student loans?
A number of things could happen. To start, you cannot shed responsibility for student loans by declaring bankruptcy. Your track record on student loans is also shared with credit reporting agencies (credit bureaus), and will affect your ability to obtain credit, such as credit card accounts and home loans. It can also affect your ability to rent a home, obtain insurance or get a job.
Many private student loans are covered by government guarantees that could pay off the lender, but result in all of the above consequences, plus put the federal government on your list of creditors. That can affect your ability to get tax refunds from the IRS.
A much sounder route would be to communicate with your lender to see if restructuring your loans would enable you to meet your obligations and avoid all the negative consequences listed above. Don't overlook the possibility of certain types of employment that could earn you full or partial forgiveness of some types of student loans, after staying on the job for specified periods of time.
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A number of things could happen. To start, you cannot shed responsibility for student loans by declaring bankruptcy. Your track record on student loans is also shared with credit reporting agencies (credit bureaus), and will affect your ability to obtain credit, such as 