My mother is keeping some of my financial aid money. What do I do?

Recently, when I applied for stafford loans with my parents, I had the 'refund', or excess money not used for tuition, deposited in my parent's bank account. I had been somewhat reluctant to take out this particular loan, but my mother simply filled out the forms using my information and took it out without my consent.

Now, my mother is keeping the refunded financial aid money in her bank account and not allowing me to pay the creditor off using it. I would like to not have to pay interest on this and end up paying several thousand dollars after I graduate on this 'excess' money from the loan.

I asked my mother if I could pay this money back to the creditor and she replied that "It's not my money to manage" - although the loan is in my name and is my responsibility to pay back.

1. How can I ensure that I am the only one capable of deciding which loans I take out?

2. How can I retrieve the money without angering my mother too much and pay the creditor back for uneeded loans.

To clarify, I am not financially irresponsible. Regardless, asking who is financially irresponsible doesn't answer the question. I am asking what my options are.

my goal is to give the money back to the creditor because I never wanted excess money over tuition costs in the first place.

it is your money and you have every right to have it I'm assuming you are over 18 and everything is in your name. did your parents co-sign the loans because that would mean that they are responsible if you are not able to pay the loan back so your mother is only hurting herself

First, determine why your mother is keeping the money..because yes, you will have to pay it back. Is your mother saving it for you? Or is she the type of mom who would spend it? Once you determine her motive then you need to take action...if it's the later, you need to make sure that the money doesn't get deposited into her account next semester instead, open up your own checking/savings account. If it's the first reason, then you should appreciate because she obviously has a good reason for no geving you the money such as....you're going to spend it wastefully. If you truely want to pay bills ask her to write the checks out to the company and you put it in the mail. It sounds like a trust issue between the two of you..someone is not trustworthy. Is it you or your mom?

sounds like your mom isnt worried about what you have to pay back? sounds like she just wants the number in her checking account to be high. all I can say is talk to a lawyer. your pretty screwed having it in your moms account. why didnt you get your own when you got the loan?

i would think this would be concidered Idenity Theft concidering you didnt want to loan. If i were you i would remind your mom that they arent taking idenity theft lightly there days. :)

Talk to your mother calmly about the money. She may be saving it so that next semester you won't have to borrow again or as much.

You need more information about the types of education loans and who is responsible for repayment.

If this is a PLUS Loan - you can learn more about the process at the fafsa website. See the link below.

How Much Can Parents Borrow?

The Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) program enables parents to borrow up to the total cost of education or budget of their student's school, less any financial aid received. For example, if your school's budget is $15,000 and the student is a freshmen and borrows the $2,625 maximum Stafford Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), the parent may borrow the remaining $12,375, regardless of income.

The PLUS is not a need-based program so a parent's income and assets are not taken into consideration. However, this is the only federal educational loan where a minimal credit check or evaluation is completed before the loan is approved. If the PLUS is denied, the dependent student may borrow an additional $4,000 during each of the freshmen and sophomore years and an additional $5,000 during the junior and senior years. Most major lenders now offer a pre-approval process for parents so they can determine if they will be approved for a PLUS loan before completing the actual PLUS master promissory note (for review only; this file requires Adobe's free Acrobat Reader).

Some lenders will mail or fax a one-page pre-approval form while others obtain the information over the telephone and contact the parent borrower within 24 hours.

Some parents use the PLUS to replace part or all of their expected family contribution (EFC) and/or borrow the "unmet need" amount (the amount of financial need remaining after the school awards its financial aid to the student).