On average, individuals in Illinois and elsewhere who have student loan debt owe an average of $34,144. This is an increase of 62 percent in the past decade, and the number of people who owe $50,000 or more has tripled in that same time period. For those who graduated in 2017, that average balance increases to $39,400. According to a study from Student Loan Hero, 13 percent of respondents attributed their divorces to student loan debt.
Only 22 percent of millennials don’t have any type of debt, and only 50 percent are expected to earn more than their parents according to Yahoo! Finance. This has caused them to put off getting married as well as put off meeting other milestones such as buying a home. Data from Student Loan Hero found that 41 percent of millennials would buy a home if they weren’t paying off student debt.
Furthermore, 39 percent said that high levels of debt were their largest source of stress. According to another study, 43 percent of those polled said that they fought with their spouses often about money. In some cases, those who responded to the survey said that they didn’t even tell their partners about their student loan debt. Furthermore, 18 percent of respondents didn’t think it was wrong to mislead their partners about financial issues.
Regardless of why a person files for divorce, it will be necessary for a former couple to determine how they will divide assets and debts. If a prenuptial agreement exists, it may spell out who is responsible for paying a student loan debt or any other that were incurred during a marriage. An attorney may help answer questions a person has about the divorce process as well as assist in crafting a divorce settlement.
