Defaulting on a student loan is one of the most serious offenses credit wise that you can make. I would pay the monthly payments for two reasons--first of all, you are required to since you agreed to pay them if she does not. Secondly, doing so will protect your credit from this serious offense. I am assuming her student loans are private, and not from the government?

First of all , a collection agency really has no legal authority. Nix that.

I would send her a registered letter ( sounds silly, especially if you see one another regularly or live in close proximity to one another) and tell her she is in default ( if she is ) and that you want her to pay and give her thirty days to respond in writing regarding her intentions. At that point, if she does not respond, I would take her to small claims (you don't state how much the loans are for, so perhaps the amount is too high for small claims court) and sue for the entire amount. You cannot ask the court to rule on separate causes of action pertaining to repayment of the same debt ( i.e. sue every year for payment of the same ).

Here is where the problem comes in----Example: I cosigned for a friend to buy a Corvette---we are Vette enthusiast and I was, quite frankly, tired of him driving one of my three. So, I helped him get his own. I only did so, though, after WE had a separate agreement that he signed stating that if he defaulted, I would take possession of the vehicle since his defaulting would make me responsible for his $800 a month payment. I also put MY name on the title. However, if he stops paying, the bank doesn't really care--MY name is on there. The point I am making is, the BANK doesn't care if he pays or if I pay---we are the same a cosigners. Another side note---I only agreed to do this for this gentleman because 1. I knew him and his character personally for most of his life and 2. I knew he was going to be in possession of a large settlement shortly and I stipulated that his loan would be paid off when he received the same. It was a seamless transaction---but we had a 'side' agreement that helped protect MY interest in the event he DID, for whatever reason, default. As expected, he held precisely to the terms of the agreement and everything was as anticipated, with his paying off the car, and my signing off the title . It was a win, win all the way around.

The point I am making is that in the eyes of the bank, YOU and she are the same when it comes to responsibility of repayment of the debt. This means that you will have to prove to the court that your intention was for HER to pay it and not YOU pay it FOR her.

You could petition the court to instruct her to get her own loan and pay the one off with your name on it--but yanno, you cannot get blood from a turnip. The "fatal mistake" was your putting your name on there for her in the first place. There may not be too much you can do, even from a recovery standpoint until the debt is paid in full.

This means that hypothetically, if you go to court, the judge orders her to pay, and repay you for the amount you already paid--what is to make her comply with the court order? My point is, while it is morally the right thing for her to do to pay her debt, forcing her to do so when you legally became a co signer will be difficult--- unless she procures her own loan to pay off the one with your name on it---something I suspect she isn't able to do from a credit wise standpoint.

You may be in the lurch for the duration of the loan. THEN when the debt is satisfied, I would sue for the entire amount plus damages. But NOTIFY HER in writing now so when the debt is paid off and you sue, she doesn't say "I didnt know he wanted me to pay---he just picked up the tab cuz he is such a good friend, yada yada".

Good luck----and STOP CO SIGNING!! There is a REASON banks aren't taking chances with people like this--and neither should you.