Student loan in a chapter 7 with no intent of hardship discharge adversary hearing

[djd]

I have a credit card debt and a student loan debt. The student loan is in an income based payment plan, not defaulted and it's not causing any hardship because I am not paying on it at this time. Payments aren't due until November.

Now, even though I have to list the student loan and the credit card debt on the chapter 7, I am only trying to discharge the credit card debt. Will the loan lender contest the discharge and will the trustee or judge demand an adversary hearing anyway before they will discharge the credit card debt?

I am filing pro se and want to avoid any issues. Explain what exactly should happen and what I should do. I don't want to be forced into a chapter 13 in any way.

[OhioFiler]

Visit an attorney.

[meateater]

I filed pre-2005, had student loans that I knew were not dischargeable, and that I was not looking to discharge. I listed the student loans at the beginning of the schedule, and wrote "non-dischargeable student loan." I thought of this as a signal to the trustee that I was not attempting to discharge the student loan. No one from the student loans ever entered an appearance or contacted me. I think I kept paying the student loans during the chapter 7. It did not become an issue in my case.

[backtoschool]

Your student loans will be included in your petition and will not be dischargable. The trustee, The US trustee, and the judge will not assume you are trying to discharge the loans. You have to file a separate motion, with a separate trial, called an adversary proceeding in order to even attempt to discharge the loans. Very few people are successful at this separate proceeding.

Whether you are a Chapter 13 or a Chapter 7 will be a matter of your income and expenses, not your student loan debt. Most districts do not even allow student loans to be counted in your expense schedules for determining whether you are a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13.

Your allowable expenses and your income will be the determining factors in whether you end up in a chapter 7 or a chapter 13.

[tcreegan]

Hi djd,

I am filing pro se and want to avoid any issues. ...do you have the NOLO book? www.nolo.com Step-by-step guidebook.

To avoid other potential pitfalls, visit your BK courts website, look for a "filing w/o attorney" section. While you are there, find and review the "local rules" These are where the local court may do things a bit differently than other courts or the NOLO book.

Good luck w/ your filing,

Tom in Colo

[djd]

Thank you. I found my state's district codes relating to pro se bankruptcy and I will look into that.

[dumpinmydebt]

I did not do anything special with my student loans. I listed them on the schedule and my matrix with all of my other creditors. My loan lender was notified (they put active BK next to my loans) and that was it. Obviously not discharged, and the lender knows that. After filing, I had to sign another promissory note (I'm still in school.) Not a word from them. They know I was not trying to discharge them because I did not filed a special motion to do so.