Should I File?

[NYMDLA]

I am 34 years old medical resident, will be done with residency in couple of months.
I have about 220,000$ in student loans and about 70,000$ on credit card debt. I have been making the payment on credit cards on time, but I have such a hard time and I work extra so I can make the payments and I haven't started making payment on student loans. In addition I have car lease payment and monthly apt rent and other expenses. I make about 75,000-80,000$ a year now.
I am considering filing for bankruptcy, I know I am responsible for paying back my student loans, but maybe I can erase that 70,000$ credit card.
I would like to know what is your opinion about filing bankruptcy in my situation.
Any advice and recommendation would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.

[KeithDoxen]

Your only problem is going to be your income. I was in a similar situation, with six figures in student loan debt, and five figures in credit card debt. I filed, got rid of the credit card debt, and am glad that I did, because I could never have juggled all those bills given my income, which is around the median income for a single person in my state.

The problem is that you are almost certainly well above the median income, meaning that you will have to pass the means test in order to successfully discharge your debt via a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The means test is very rigid and it may not allow you to claim expenses that you view as perfectly reasonable based on your locality and lifestyle. Therefore, you will probably end up in a Chapter 13, where you will end up paying your creditors a specified monthly amount for five years, and where your student loans may continue to grow in interest while you are unable to pay them down thanks to your required Chapter 13 monthly payments.

I would consult an attorney who can work through the nuts and bolts of your situation to see whether it would make any sense for you to file. Find one who will give you a free consultation. With your income, you might want to try and make a deal with your credit card companies instead. You can probably settle a lot of that credit card debt for a lot less than the topline balance.