Steve Mason and his wife Darnelle are being mercilessly tapped to repay $200,000 in student loans, even though their 27-year-old daughter Lisa Mason died of liver failure.
Unable to swing the $2,000 a month repayment plan, the California pastor says he is also unable to legally declare bankruptcy, as student loan have been conveniently excluded from the program.
Each time they have appealed to the lenders to beg for help, the couple have been told that the only solution is to repay the mammoth loans – some of which have interest rates of 12 percent – in full. Making the situation dramatically worse is the fact that the couple are now the guardians of daughter Lisa’s three children, ages nine, 12 and 14, leaving their futures in the balance. Before her death, Lisa Mason had taken out $100,000 in private student loans to fund her education at nursing school and crucially, Steve had co-signed on them. source
In the five years since her tragic passing, Steve and Darnelle’s inability to keep up with the payments has seen the sum owed double to $200,000 because of the high interest rates and late-fee penalties.
Compounding the desperation, Steve makes less than $75,000 a year at Oasis Church in Redlands, California and Darnelle earns less in her role as director at the same church.
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It's not right that good Christian people should be stuck with a 200k loan after losing their daughter and now taking care of her three children. As I understand it was originally 100k or less and in the
last 5 yrs the high interest and penalties have doubled the principle. I see a couple of solutions, first with the help of donors it's being greatly reduced, along with the lenders discounting the interest and some penalty. Time was of the essence when the courses that she was taking were no longer being used. I would have approached the school and tried to recover the unused fees or gotten them transferred to some other new student. The other area the loan went to could have also been sold to auctioned. With all the educated congregation this should have been assessed. It has gotten critical because it was not dealt with. Certainly there are other ways to make the income. I would also suggest bi monthly amortization, it would have reduced the amount by 26%. And what of the father(s)
of the three children, was she never married? Remember the scripture that says if you lose your coat in a judgement give your cloak too. God looks after those deserving of his grace. It would have been best to have taught your children to fish rather than buy the fish. I wish there were something of a correct obituary for the daughter, there were news stories that printed she died in 2007, 2009 & 2013.
I really hate to say this, but when I went to college during the late '90s to early '00s the people who had the most student loans were the dumbest people in the school.
I don't think that everyone should go to college. It's fairly simple. And what is up with all of these 27 year olds having 3 kids these days? Jesus....
Her oldest kid was 14, and she died 5 years ago so she had him when she was 18... Keep the legs shut and don't buy what you can't afford.
She was a drug addict. She attended a community college and her parents got a sizeable settlement from the doctor that prescribed the pills.