[msjaymes]

I live in California and I'm thinking of sueing my sister for a student loan I co-signed for her that went into collections. I settled with the collections company and paid with my credit cards and my own money.

There is also another loan with SallieMae that she is always late paying. I know that as the co-signer it is still my responsibility to pay the loans. However, I was thinking of getting a personal loan to pay that off.

If I sue her, my sister has threatened to file for bankruptcy to cancel all her debts. So my questions are this:

Could I sue her for the money I paid out for the settlement and possibly the loan I'm might get to pay off the SallieMae loan? And what is the likelyhood that I would actually win a judgement against her?

I would appreciate any advice. I'm totally lost where to begin and who I can ask for help with this.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You can sue her. You don't have any right to accelerate her debts, so if you choose to pay off one of her loans early you should not count on the court allowing you to recover that in a lump sum (although that could happen). I would expect you to recover the payments you have had to make on her behalf.

Unlike (most) student loans, her judgment debts to you would be dischargeable in bankruptcy.

[msjaymes]

I really appreciate your advice and the time you've used in answering my questions. I hope this has helped someone else in my situation, as well.