Navy Wife W/ Questions

[nomoneytree]

I am a first time poster, although I have clicked around and read many posts trying to answer some of my questions. Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

My husband and I filed Ch. 7 on 1/9/09 and have a 341 hearing on 3/4/09. I am anxiously waiting as this is one of the worst things I have ever had to do, but it was the best thing for our family. I don't want to bore you with all the details, but in a nutshell, I lost my job in August and we live on a military salary. We were very cmfortable before my job loss, but not having the income has sent us in a downward spin and it is what it is. It sucks that I have a bachelor's degree and can't get a job - I have over 165 resumes out and I think I would b a pretty could catch for an employer, but none are biting. It doesn't help that several large companies in our area have had massive lay-offs, I mean BIG companies that are in the Florida panhandle.

The question... I have several student loans. I am aware that the federally backed loans are not going to be discharged, they amount to about $15k and I have them defered right now so I am sure I can handle those when needed. My problem is Salie Mae. These peope are horrible. I have about $30k in signature student loans with them. I tried to make arrangements with them, but they won't help me. I litterally begged one of the supervisors that I either was able to pay the half of a payment, or feed my kids. He said that he needed to be paid and that I could seek assistance to feed my kids. I don't think so! I haven't been able to pay them since August and they have shot the interest rate up to 60% on each of the loans (I have 3!). My question is, since these are signature loans, what are the chances that I am going to be able to get rid of them? My worst fear is that they will be the one's that show up at the 341 because so far they have been relentless in their efforts to try and collect some money. I have filed pro se (if I had $3k to give to an attourney, I could have paid my bills!) so I am basically on my own. Right now, I am paying my house and our cars, as we have to have them. Any feedback from anyone that has had any experience with these types of loans would be great.

Thanks,

Nomoneytree

[TEW]

I can’t say that they will not absolutely show up at your 341 but chances are they will not.
I don’t know very much about student loans but can you qualify for a forbearance

[keepmine]

Those student loans will survive discharge. In fact, if you're trying to discharge student loans you should have filed an adverserial proceeding yourself so the judge can rule on the hardship issue.

http://doney.net/bkcode/11usc0523.htm

(8) unless excepting such debt from discharge under this paragraph would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor's dependents, for--

(A)

(i) an educational benefit overpayment or loan made, insured, or guaranteed by a governmental unit, or made under any program funded in whole or in part by a governmental unit or nonprofit institution; or

(ii) an obligation to repay funds received as an educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend; or

(B) any other educational loan that is a qualified education loan, as defined in section 221(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, incurred by a debtor who is an individual;

[jribe]

as far as i have heard- you can only discharge "private" student loans. And even then, i think there is still the hardship requirement... But i may be wrong on that. I have about 25k in student loans myself- not a pretty picture. However, i called the student loan company and asked them to put me on interest only payments for a year. They didn't ask for any verification for anything; i just said i couldn't afford the full payment at this time- and it would help me out. So my payments are about $125 a month. I know a lot of the companies are pretty terrible- but sometimes you can get a decent person. Keep trying! Good luck

[StartingOver08]

HHM posted a very interesting thread under the student loans section in this forum. Take a look at it as the judge discharged some of the loans but not others in that particular hardship situation. Because you are still in your BK, look at it right away to see if there is anything that can help you. Of course HHM can give you a more seasoned analysis of the impact of this decision. (He posted the thread 1/15/09 and the ruling was very recent, Nov 2008)

[dingdong]

Have you tried consolidating your loans through the William Ford Direct Loan program? They have a very reasonable repayment plan , called the Income Contingent plan, which basically looks at how much you make and then adjusts your payment according to your income.

The payments are EXTREMELY reasonable. There are no credit qualiications, as it is a guranteed loan from the govt. While you are making less money, you could go on the IC plan, when you find a job, you can start paying more.

The down side is, you accumulate interest, and your balance goes up, as the payments nowhere near cover the interest on my loan, but it does give you some breathing room when times are tough.

They are fairly quick abou funding the loan and you can everything online.

Google the program, it might help in the interim.

[dingdong]

Another note, be careful about defaulting, when you reach the 180 mark of non payment on a SL, you go into default, which means Sallie Mae can file a treasury offset and you will lose your tax return up to the amount of your SL balance.

I really encurage you to check out the WF program, the interest rates are good, quick and painless application process, and you will have all your loans in one easy to manage package and only have to make one payment, IF you are having trouble paying , they are really good about forebearance, hardship deferments and the like.

[nomoneytree]

Thank you for all your input. So if I try this Wm. Ford program, do I go for it now, or wait until after the 341?

[dingdong]

I don't think it would be a problem since you are not aquiring new debt, but merely consolidating loans. I don't know if having an active BK would affect the underwriting though?

You might have to wait until you are discharged.


I am not totally sure

I would call William Ford and ask them specific questions, they are very nice and helpful.

Just tell them what is going in, tell them about the probs with Sallie Mae, and that you are considering consolidation and tell them exactly what kind of loans you have with SM so they can make sure they are qualified to be consolidated.

Hopefully someone will chime in about consolidation while in BK and if that is ok with a Trustee.

You may be able to call the Trustee him/herself and ask. I know some people don't reccomend calling a Trustee, but it seems they would be able to tell you if it is BK no no or not.

Not all of them are evil