Areas of concern (NOT addressed within Christopher's Law)

Please see below for a list of areas of concern within our American financial system (not addressed within Christopher's Law), that if left unregulated, will continue to place families/individuals in terribly vulnerable financial and legal situations. I believe that correcting these areas are critical to the protection of American families such as mine.

AREAS OF CONCERN

Cosigner consolidation

• Regardless of the death or disability of the original borrower, once repayment responsibility is transferred to the cosigner, the cosigner is not LEGALLY permitted to consolidate the private student loan(s).
• This unfortunate condition leaves cosigners responsible for the unconditional repayment of the Private student loan(s) AS the borrower, without all the rights and privileges OF a borrower.

Death and disability policy (Education Loans)

• No REQUIREMENT exists for Private education lenders to provide protection against unconditional repayment of, or to forgive, private student loans.

• Lending institutions are not currently required to have a POLICY in place in the event of the death or disability of the original borrower

Death and disability policy (Credit Cards)

• Families not made aware of any LAW stating whether they are required to continue paying credit card payments in the event of the death or disability of the original borrower.    
• Credit card companies not required by LAW to close borrower’s account(s) upon receipt of permanent disability certification or death.  
• Throughout our ordeal, regardless of physician justification letters or pleas for reprieve, both banks hounded our family for payment, regardless of the traumatic situation at hand.   
• Our lawyer had to send a threatening letter to two separate credit card company corporate offices to put an end to the continuous postal mail (always addressed to Christopher, but written to the family, hoping we’d respond) and phone calls requesting payment on borrower’s behalf.
• It was as if they accepted the information that he was catastrophically injured, but they were asking for their money regardless, hoping we didn’t know any better.