What do I do with student loans when I'm pro se

[empowered]

I filed Chapter 13 with 341 and confirmation in February or so of 2009. It was dismissed when I was unable to make plan payments in about January of 2010. So for the 13, attorneys and I included the student loans, which had been current, in the bankruptcy plan payments. I'm assuming that I'm now in default since I stopped making payments on the plan but I have had no direct contact with the student loan people since those payments were built into the payment plan.

I'm filing Chapter 7 first thing in August. I know that the student loans typically cannot be discharged so that's not what I'm asking about here.

My question is, after the 341 or after discharge, do I just contact the student loan folks and talk to them about getting on track again? Is that how it's done? In other words, should I be worrying about anything else in this regard?

Anyone familiar with this circumstance?

Thanks.

[justfiveofus]

Do you have any deferrments or forebarance time available? I put ours into forebarance until after we're done and I'll resume payments as soon as that time is over. In fact, I just got a new payment book from one of our servicers.

[empowered]

I guess I'm kind of fearful about contacting them before the 341 or the discharge for my Chapter 7, which I'll be filing in early August. But I suppose I should have assumed direct contact with them when I was laid off, before I stopped paying on my Chapter 13 plan and my Chapter 13 was dismissed. But it's been six months since then.

Even though they were included in my Chapter 13 payment plan, they were current until the bankruptcy happened. I should have been able to try to get a deferment because of my job loss of early this year but since I was no longer working directly with them I guess I wasn't sure what to do or what would happen, whether going directly to them would affect my filing for Chapter 7 or what.

[bts]

I don't know much, but personally I would contact them being that this will still be a loan you will need to pay off and will influence your credit. (assuming you're like most people and won't be able to get this loan discharged as well)

[empowered]

Thanks. I'll call them. I printed out a deferment form this weekend but since my 13 was dismissed for nonpayment in January (though I didn't know this for months afterward) I should probably call and see if it's still possible to avoid the loans going into default. They had been paid on time for years before I had them rolled into the Chapter 13.

[thebolt]

I will tell you that I was making 75 dollar payments on my student loan (I set up a payment agreement) and when I sumbitted my paperwork for my bankruptcy they told me that until the bankruptcy discharged they would no longer take any payments from me. They also said until my bankruptcy was discharged they could not make any kind of arrangements with me. They told me to contact them after my discharge and then they will set up my payment plan again. Mine was in default already. Hope this helps somehow. BTW, I am in California.

[empowered]

Thanks for your response. I actually just got done composing an e-mail to them after having a frustrating phone call in which I somehow could not supply the right piece of information to satisfy them that I was the owner of the account. They haven't maintained accurate information and none of my last true addresses from when I was still paying on my accounts and they were current satisfied them. They refused to use some of the most typical types of verifying information also, like birthplace, mother's maiden name and so on. They wanted some particular incorrect old address, probably from too long ago. So I dug up an old e-mail payment receipt that they'd sent me from years back and forwarded it to them and explained that that account hadn't even been used in several years and that I wanted to submit a deferment form.

It'll be interesting to see if they tell me the same thing as they told you. I haven't filed the 7 yet and my 13 was dismissed in January so you'd think that they'd be interested in reestablishing contact so that they could get some money at some point. Maybe I can get the deferment in before the paperwork on the 7. I'd rather not have to go through the process of pulling the loans out of default -- that takes some time.

Thanks.