William Blake

Dont expect to weasel out of those student loans by filing bankruptcy. Even if student loan debt makes up a majority of an individuals debt theres a good chance that the loan will not be discharged. The governments rules for bankruptcy were changed in 1998 and student loans were ruled to be a non-dischargeable item.

The reason being that many financial institutions were losing millions of dollars and the government was losing millions as well because the federal government guaranteed many of these student loans.

With the rules of bankruptcy today, a person filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy must prove that they will have undue financial hardship if the student loans are not discharged. In most cases if student loans make up a large portion of the individuals debt, a portion of the loan may be discharged by the judge but not the entire amount.

In other cases in bankruptcy and student loans are reviewed, if the loans are found to have been sold repeatedly to other lenders and with changing interest rates it is difficult to determine an exact balance, some or all of the loan may be discharged.

The provisions of Chapter 13 bankruptcy are different for student loans. An individual filing can have all of their secured and unsecured debt become part of a repayment plan through a court trustee. If student loans are in the mix, then the individual must show they have enough income to make the monthly payments to pay off the student loan debt within five years.

Determining if Debtor Can Pay

In order to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, an individual needs to prove that they can repay the debt. For instance, if their total debt is $100,000, the trustee divides that total by 60 months and comes up with a monthly payment of $1.667 a month. The individual must show that they can pay this monthly payment and have enough left over for living expenses. If they are able to meet this criterion then they may be able to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy and include their student loans in the deal.

However, if their income does allow for expenses plus the payment to the court, Chapter 13 will not be allowed. Their other option may be to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy to eliminate most of their other debts, freeing up money for them to make payments on student loans.

Making the monthly-required Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment in addition to student loan payments may be a struggle for some. One option is to secure a loan with lower interest rates and lower payments to pay off their student loan debt.