What happens if I'm reassessed and got too much?

Recently, August 2012 it has come to the attention of the Alberta government that we've been living together and should have been considered common-law by their laws.

Given that the way student loans assess need within common law marriages (and the fact that both of us have gone to school but weren't always in school together, one of us were working) we will likely be over-assessed by about $40,000 of our combined $90,000 in student loans debt/grants. My GF has since graduated and has no problem paying back her current student loans, and I will be graduating in 4 months, likely to not have any problems paying my student loan back either.

The problem is regarding how exactly the government is going to force us to repay over-assessment of the student loans. We can afford to pay the current payment of ~$500/m but were the government to demand we repay back the over-assessment immediately and/or garnish our wages for more than that we may be in trouble. We bought a home together in 2010 so we're both quite scared to possibly default on that due to how the government reacts to us being over-funded by $40k. My GF wishes to go to law school in 2 years that we were planning on saving for, but now if she cannot get student loans again until the $40k is paid, or if they don't let her get student loans again and we're forced to pay back the $40k rather soon (and at a higher interest rate), instead of the tradition time she may have to wait 3-5 years, about the time I want to be going to MBA school. This whole thing is looking like it is going to be quite the mess.

Realistically, my GF and I only ever used student loans to support us through school and tuition (our mortgage costs including taxes, condo fees and upkeep us only $200/m more than renting was so it's not like we were dramatically "ripping off the system" by getting one, we'd still have needed pretty much all the money we received.)

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge surrounding this subject? As of right now, the government suspects my GF has a common-law spouse (me), but it hasn't been confirmed and we've been in discourse with the Alberta government trying to get them off her back without admitting to anything. I'll be lawyering up tomorrow to hopefully help smooth out this mess as best as possible. It's not like the government isn't going to get their money, because they will... I just don't want the government to completely ruin our current living condition and future goals for no good reason and am trying to salvage things as best as possible. Were we not able to get maximum student loans we'd both never have been able to go to school so I regret nothing, it's just a shame the system could potentially punish people using it properly (graduating and becoming a productive member of society) and paying them back.

If we admit everything to them what are they likely to do?