Student loan question

[bilbo]

Yes, they do automatically put the loans in deference/forebearance when Bk is filed. They(US Dept of Education) did tell me that if I wanted to make payments I could but was not reqired to do so--They said they could take it out of that status if I sent them a handwritten letter stating that I knew the loans were not going to be discharged and that I wanted to resume payments.
I was just worrying about listing them on schedule J as an expense. Someone had told me I could not do that. Needless to say, if my $496/mo student loan payment was disallowed it would affect my disposable income tremendously..... Well, now I have no more worries about it. I will let the board know how my 341 goes on Friday....

[jennga]

Best of luck Bilbo at your 341. It will soon be over and probably be quick and easy. Keep us posted.

[JimH]

Several members who've filed Chp7, and listed thier student loans thier petition, actually had them discharged! You may as well give it a shot, and see what happens.

Huh.... You mean these sometimes get discharged just by listing them? Slip through the cracks?

[bkfiler]

no way its gonna slip through the cracks. listing them is what you have to do because its a debt.

there is a 'motion to discharge student loan' you have to file with the court. extra time, money and you have to prove hardship menioned before.

everyone lists it anyway and they list it in the same spot. if something magically goes away then everyone will have that same probablility. but dont hold your breath. no one is going to give up thousands of dollars by mistake.

[bkfiler]

i just checked and my attorney didnt list it on schedule J. but i dont remeber telling him i had this debt. ok so im gonna blame it on him since he is the professional.

bat attorney! bad! wow that really puts my expense - income to a even lower amount now. im really in bad shape.

[JimH]

I'm going to take a look into hardship motions since I still owe about $25,000. I really dislike paying this - it probably has to be more than I don't like to pay.

[bkfiler]

are you able to work at all? then you wont qualify.

that is basically how tough it is in a nut shell and $25K is nothing compared to some of the amounts.

there are some other reasons to look into such as is the school a gov insured loan or not. but i heard that was under the old laws. let us know what you find.

here is some reading in the meantime to jumpstart that.

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This standard is generally interpreted to mean that the debtor cannot maintain a minimally adequate standard of living and repay the loan. It usually requires a showing that the conditions that make repayment a hardship are unlikely to improve substantially over time. Many courts use the test for undue hardship found in the Brunner case.

Courts in some circuits will permit the judge to find that the debtor can repay a portion of the loan without hardship, and to discharge the balance of the loan.

To discharge a student loan in bankruptcy, the debtor must bring an adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy case. The debtor must prove at trial that repayment constitutes undue hardship.

Contesting the enforceability of the loan

Student loans are contracts like any other loan and are subject to challenge for fraud, etc. Also, students loans are not enforceable when the school has closed prior to the student completing his education. These challenges could be raised in a Chapter 13 proceeding and decided by a bankruptcy judge. In the usual Chapter 7, there is no dividend to creditors and thus no reason for the bankruptcy court to rule on the enforceability of a claim, outside of an adversary proceeding to obtain a hardship discharge.

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Unless you have a serious medical condition which prevents you from any sort of gainful employment, qualified student loans are not dischargeable. The burden of proof for a harship discharge is high and if you are able to work at all, it is very unlikely you would be able to convice the court to give you a hardship discharge. If you were to try for a hardship discharge, you usually need expert (doctor) medical testimony that you suffer from a serious medical condition, and the process involves a court trial, so it's also fairly expensive. (Tim McFarlin)

[JimH]

doesn't look like I have a snowballs chance in hell.

[bkfiler]

i was told that 2 times before and i won both times on some other matters.

dont give up, go research it. worst case it makes you an expert to help us and you might find something out that will help you.

[jennga]

Just curious, but do you think it makes a difference how long you have paid on your student loans? I doubt it, actually my student loans were the least of my worry, had it down to under 3k, but I had gone back to school 3 different times and got 3 different degrees. No degree in finance however , anyway, since I have them paid down so low I guess there is no chance they would say, well at least we got the principal out of her and we aren't losing much....???

Naw, I didn't think so.

[bkfiler]

no it wont matter how long you have paid on them. that used to be the case decades ago. not any more.

maybe if it was $1000 or less they might not want to pay an attorney to fight it. who knows.

[JimH]

No degree in finance however

I have one and consider it excellent training on how end up in bk with ENORMOUS amounts of other people's money. I've done very well with my education.

[anonymuse]

I also listed my student loans under the expense schedule per my lawyers instruction. My lawyer told me that is almost impossible for your student loans to be discharged under bk.

Last week I ran a credit report to check my account status and was suprised to see my student loan listed as deferred status. I call Sallie Mae and was told that because I filed for BK they had to mark it as deferred until I received the discharge. I have been making payments to them per my lawyers advice and they are keeping the funds on hold until I receive the discharge.

What amount did you put on schedule J? Right now, I'm only paying interest since I was on unemployment. Then I've looked at their web site and seen the payments that I should be making under their different repayment plans. Which do you include--what you're paying now (which, since I'm working, I should be paying more), or the lowest amount based on one of their different payment plans?