The Project on Student Debt reports that 71 percent of college seniors who graduated last year had taken out student loans and were in debt. For each borrower, the average student loan debt totaled $29,400. This is an enormous sum of money, especially considering many students are not able to find jobs within their professions or even to find work that would allow them to make payments on almost $30,000 in loans.
For people struggling with debt, bankruptcy can seem like the answer. Unfortunately, while bankruptcy can help you to resolve many kinds of debt problems, student loans are generally not dischargeable. This means that you probably are not going to be able to get rid of student loans even if you go through the bankruptcy process. An attorney can review your situation and advise you on whether bankruptcy will help with your debts or not, so call Ronald D. Weiss, PC today for assistance.

Student Loans and Bankruptcy

Student loans are given special protection by lawmakers which means that they are treated differently than other kinds of debt in bankruptcy.  You can get rid of student loans in a bankruptcy filing only under extremely limited circumstances when repayment would create an undue burden or hardship.
Not finishing your degree; a failure to find a job in your field; or debts equal to many times your income are all not considered an undue burden for purposes of discharging student loan debt. In general, there are a very narrow set of extreme circumstances when getting rid of student debt might be possible, such as if you become totally and permanently disabled and will never work again as a result.
Outside of these situations, you cannot get rid of student loan debts.  You can, however, discharge other types of debts if you file for bankruptcy such as credit cards, personal loans and medical debts. For some people, eliminating their other financial obligations will provide enough wiggle room in the budget to be able to make student loan payments.
Unfortunately, the special protections that make it impossible to discharge student loan debt also give many lenders the right to take certain kinds of actions unprecedented in other debt collection cases, like seizing your tax return to repay your student loans. If you are in default or cannot pay, don’t just ignore the problem- speak to a bankruptcy and debt relief lawyer to see if there are any financial solutions that could be able to help you.
Ronald D. Weiss, PC is here to advise debtors who are struggling financially. Call today to learn more about how we can represent you in bankruptcy in Suffolk County.