Bankruptcy Plus Student Loans Often Don't Mix Well

By Chris Safin


Whenever an individual considers filing for personal bankruptcy and student loans make up a good component of their debt, there is a good chance the loans won't be discharged. This is since in 1998, federal laws on student lending and bankruptcies changed. Student loans were ruled to be non-dischargeable as a lot of financial institutions were losing millions of dollars. Also when loans which were federal government guaranteed had been forgiven through banruptcy the government began losing millions of dollars too.

With the new rules governing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the filer must show that debts will create undue financial hardship if not adjusted or dismissed. As in many cases with bankruptcy where student education loans make up a large portion of the individual's debt, a portion of the loan may be discharged by the judge, but most of the loan will remain a legal debt.

In other cases where bankruptcy and student loans are reviewed, if the loans are found to have been sold repeatedly to other lenders and with changing interest rates it is difficult to figure out an exact balance, some or the whole loan may possibly be discharged.

A debtor can have both their unsecured and secured debt made part of a pay back plan administered by way of a court trustee as supplied under a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. You may get this option, but you want a lawyer to advise you concerning the wisest option for your particular situation.

You'll find really stringent criteria which must be met in instances of bankruptcy involving student education loans. For example showing they have sufficient income to make the monthly payments determined by the court to pay off the whole debt within five years.

How the issue of being capable of paying or not comes into play:

An example where the individual has a filed bankruptcy court debt of $100,000 would be broken down as follows: the trustee will break the monthly payments down to $1,667 per month for sixty months. If the individual cannot show earnings of that amount plus money for every day living expenses, they may possibly have the ability to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy and have student loans included within the quantity.

However, if their income does enable for expenses plus the payment to the court, Chapter 13 won't be allowed. If all fails and one can't get student education loans included within the bankruptcy, it may possibly at last be achievable to make use of bankruptcy for other debts and as a result have far more cash available to deal with student education loans.

For a lot of student loan payments after bankruptcy are still going to take up a large portion of their income. It may possibly be achievable after a bit of time has passed to obtain a lower rate and lower payment loan to aid with the burden of paying off the student education loans.

It is advisable for any of the people, pondering over these lines, in view of its significance and consequences, to consult an experienced lawyer specializing within the field of bankruptcy. A trained professional is the only one qualified to make sure a happy ending.




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