repaying college

[dirtyw]

I have a question. A big question that is keeping me up at night.

My wife works for one of the big tobacco companies. Thankfully she had her master's paid for by the tobacco company.
It has been understood that you must work for the company two years after your graduation date or repay the tuition.

Her company is about to merge however the date keeps changing and my wife has found a new job. The only thing is that we dont know if she should wait it out till the merger. It has been stated by the CO that when the merger takes effect and you are not asked to work for the new Co then you wont have to pay the education bill.

I have asked my wife a few times if there was anything that she signed stating that she would have to repay the loan. She never signed anything that stated that. that she knows of.

I need to know what to ask for and what to look for to know if the Co will or has the right to come after us to repay the debt. the only other thing she could do is to get fired but that's not going to happen soon enough.

has any one heard of a company coming after an ex employee to repay student tuition fees.???




advice feed back anything would be welcomed.

thanks.
d_w

 

[Beth3]

"has any one heard of a company coming after an ex employee to repay student tuition fees.???" Sure. In fact I had to threaten to bring suit against a management employee who left my company not long ago owing $10,000 in tuition repayment.

There are two issues that can't be answered here:

1. Even though your wife doesn't recall signing anything, is there any kind of employee handbook or policy that calls for repayment of tuition monies if an employee resigns? Or did she in fact sign some agreement that she now can't remember?

2. Just because the company is merging does NOT mean that her present employer's policies become invalid. If she is not asked to work for the new company - in other words, if they terminate her employment - chances are they won't require her to repay the money. But if they do retain her and assuming there is some documentation somewhere as to the company's repayment policy, they very well could pursue her for repayment.

 

[dirtyw]

Very wise questions you have asked. said i.

These are the same questions that i asked her my veryself. The repayment is in the handbook. Of course she signed something stating that she read the hand book just as we all have done in the past.

However. Her company stated in writting that if she doesnt take the job with the new company all debts are forgiven.

I really only see one true way of this issue. If she was to get fired then all depts a forgiven. She is just going to have to pull an office space on them.

I have had a couple lawyers that have stated her company wouldnt come after her. That it is more of a ethics issue. I am sorry but she is asking a friend for free advice i am a little leary of that hence i know my wife and they probably only know .25 of the story. It took me 2 hours to get the whole truth of documents and statements from her and the Co.

there has to be something that can get you out of this hence you are basically a prisoner.

it clearly states that if you leave before your two years after completetion you will have to repay but only up to 20k and they will work a payment plan out.

I have to take the risk and tell her it's a go. I just cant watch her work for them any longer and be so unhappy.

 

[Beth3]

If there is no agreement or policy in writing about repayment, then the odds are pretty good that the company has no legal basis to pursue her for repayment if she quits. And even if there is, whether they will come after her for repayment is a toss-up. This varies considerably by company and there are far too many intangibles that effect a decision like that to even hazard a guess as to what her employer will do.

She is perfectly free to resign and take her chances. An added plus for your wife is with the merger going on, management may be far too distracted by the numerous things that they must attend to at present than to worry about someone's tuition money.

Good luck.

 

[dirtyw]

that's what i keep thinking that since the comany no longer is around and the big thing is to get the merger to go through that trying to get the money out of her wouldnt be that high on the list.

However they could say let's make an example of her. I can handle repaying 20k but repaying 65k was a little more then what we could afford or even get a hold of at this time.

some times it comes down to a roll of the dice. the story of my life. take the chances and pay if need be.

thanks for 411.

d_w

 

[dirtyw]

Now if this agreement is legal in kentuckey is it legal in Texas and can they come after me in Texas. Or would I have to go to kentuckey.

The headqrt isnt even in kentuckey any longer. It has been absorbed into the new group. Her old company will not exist any long after the buy out merger. He company is getting ride of any law suits that it needs to pay for by getting rid of the company and creating a new company with a rival. So they are no longer responsible for past and up coming suits.

They aslo stated that as of June 20th the college tuition program will no long exist.

My wife wants to believe that since the program dosent exist then she doesnt have to pay for anything and of course wont believe that just because the company isnt paying for people to go to school doesnt mean they dont want their money back.

 

[Beth3]

What State the new company is in or incorporates in is very likely irrelevant but if you want an exact opinion, you're going to have to consult with an attorney. What State YOU'RE in is totally irrelevant.

Do I understand that the amount of tuition monies we're talking about is $65,000?!? That puts a different spin on things. For that amount of money, the employer well may not elect to look the other way when she leaves.

As to your last comment: "My wife wants to believe that since the program dosen't exist then she doesn't have to pay for anything and of course won't believe that just because the company isn't paying for people to go to school doesnt mean they don't want their money back." You are, of course, correct. Ask your wife if your bank decided to no longer be involved in mortgage lending, whetherthat means you can quit repaying your morgage loan.

There's absolutely no way to predict what your wife's employer will do. If she elects to go ahead and quit, just cross your fingers.

 

[dirtyw]

well i am going to have the contract lawyer take a look at it. Hopefully he can tell me if it will hold up or not.

If it will hold up then she's not going to quit. We just cant take a loss like that....

thanks for the input.

d_w