Student loan debt is a weight on the shoulders of many Americans. Our client base in Southern California regularly asks us whether or not we are able to help with student loan debt in bankruptcy. There are mixed messages out there on various websites, and most people are under the impression that student loan debt can only be resolved by paying it in full or settling the debt with the creditor or bank. In this article, we will address this issue and provide an excellent resource to see if you can discharge your student loan debt with solutions other than bankruptcy or debt settlement.
As we have mentioned before in previous articles, it is technically possible to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy, but, in a practical sense, it is nearly impossible. It is rare to see student loan debt discharged in a bankruptcy, and when it does happen, it is usually due to the lack of capability to earn income by the person filing for bankruptcy due to permanent disability. This means that bankruptcy has discharged student loan debt in the past, but it is most likely when the bankruptcy filer has medical issues which limit the person from working at all, in any capacity. So, if you are capable of earning money or working in any capacity, it is very unlikely that you will be able to discharge student loan debt in a bankruptcy.
You should not lose hope though. There are other solutions. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you put past due debt into a payment plan to pay back past due payments at a moderate pace although it may not be able to discharge any of the debt. Also, if you know that you cannot discharge your student loan debt, focus on other debts. Student loans are usually some of our clients’ lowest interest rate debt. It may not be a bad idea to get rid of all of your other consumer debt in bankruptcy and focus your efforts on paying off your student loan. If you were to cut out your car that you cannot afford or discharge the credit card debt which you cannot afford to pay, would you then be able to pay your student loan payments? Bankruptcy may still be able to help you focus your income and resources on debt that is low interest and not able to be discharged.
Another option is to check government resources to see if you can qualify for a student loan discharge in any of their own resolutions which are provided on their website. There are various types of solutions that can be found on this site depending on various factors like permanent disability, death, false school certification, identity theft. Check your options on this government sponsored website:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts
Best of luck to you in your student loan negotiations, but if you don’t want to leave it to luck, contact us for any questions or additional assistance.
Bankruptcy Law Professionals have helped clients resolve debt via Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing our Riverside and Orange County offices. We help client from Los Angeles to Victorville. If you are interested in contacting us about our bankruptcy services, please call us at 855 257-7671. We can conduct attorney consultations by phone or in-person at our offices. We
