If the story is correct, she’s never been in default, just constant deferments. They won’t garnish anything until she’s been in default, and that will take at least 9 months from when she misses her first payments. I assume she’ll go to a PAYE, or a REPAYE program (that includes loans taken before 2007), pay 10% of her above poverty level income (so really a lot less than 10%) and have the government loans forgiven (but not her daughter’s Plus). That will leave her with the private loans, which she could default on.