u/JeffTS

I'm caregiver for my elderly mother with dementia. Towards the end of last year, she received notice from a company called ECMC that she owes, including interest, over $7k on an outstanding student loan.

At the time, they sent a letter with options for repayment or disputing it but no actual evidence of said loan. Using my power of attorney, I responded stating that I was her sole caregiver and agent, that she had dementia, requested evidence in the form of a copy the original promissory note, and disputed this loan.

I had hoped that would be the end of it.

However, today I received a packet of documents from ECMC that included a copy of the original promissory note, interest calculations, and additional instructions while denying the dispute. It turns out, it was a student loan from 1986!!!! for my older sibling and the college that they attended.

The original letter said that they could take up to 15% of her Social Security each month. Aside from a monthly pension that couldn't cover full groceries for a month, her Social Security is all she has. She has no property, no savings, nothing. On top of that, I got her signed up for Medicaid recently to help get some relief as a caregiver and to prepare for the time when she'll need in-home nursing care. Her Medicaid has a $280/mo. spend down (basically out-of-pocket expense for Medicaid). Between that and being docked up to 15%, we are going to end up in a hard spot financially if that happens.

Has any of my other Xennials dealt with ECMC and/or getting a parent's 40+ year old student loan discharged?