Annie Waldman, In New Jersey Student Loan Program, Even Death May Not Bring a Reprieve. The New York Times, 3 July 2016. This story was co-published with ProPublica. “After her son was killed, Marcia DeOliveira-Longinetti was able to get the remaining balance of his federal student loans written off. But the New Jersey state agency that had also lent her son money told her, ‘Your request does not meet the threshold for loan forgiveness.'”
Update: Annie Waldman, New Jersey Will No Longer Collect Loans From Families of Dead Students. ProPublica, 6 December 2016. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed into law a bill requiring the state’s student loan agency to forgive the loans of borrowers who die or become permanently disabled. Last July, an investigation from ProPublica and The New York Times found that New Jersey’s student loan agency aggressively sought repayment of loans with already onerous terms, even after some of the recipients had died. The efforts had traumatized grieving families, and forced some into financial ruin…. ‘A parent’s worst nightmare is losing a child, and if that unfortunate event should occur, the last thing a parent should have to face is someone calling to collect money for student loans,’ said State Sen. James Beach in an emailed release. This law will put an end to that practice and help establish new policies to put in place.'”