Tag: student loan debt

student loan debt

Student Loan Bankruptcy: A Solution to the Student Loan Debt Crisis

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With an estimated $1.6 trillion owed in student loan debt nationwide, it comes as no surprise that solving the student loan crisis has been at the forefront of most political campaigns in 2020. However, many argue that the solution to the problem is much simpler than just forgiving student loan debt. In fact, the answer to solving the student loan crisis could lie in the United States Bankruptcy Code.  

Traditionally, student loans have been all but impossible to discharge in either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Since the creation of the Higher Education Act in 1965, Congress has continued to add rules that make discharging federal student loan debt more and more difficult in bankruptcy. In 2005, private student loans were added to the list of debts that were difficult to discharge in bankruptcy, regardless of how much the filer was struggling financially. 

student loan debt, Student Loans

Former For-Profit College Operator Settles Bankruptcy Case with Department of Education

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A settlement was reached between former for-profit college operator, FCC Holdings Inc., and the U.S. Department of Education. The $8 million settlement is part of the company’s bankruptcy case and signifies the end of years of legal battles.  

FCC Holdings formerly operated 41 for-profit colleges under various names. Before filing for bankruptcy, FCC Holdings sold 14 of their for-profit colleges to another company, International Education Corporation (IEC). IEC still operates 11 of these campuses in Florida and Texas under the name of Florida Career Colleges.

student loan debt, Student Loans

Facing a Broken Student Loan System Borrowers Set Hopes on New Reform Bill

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The student loan system has been considered broken for quite some time, and while many reform efforts have been made to help improve the process, nothing has been successful thus far. However, a new student loan reform bill could signal meaningful change is on the way.

This reform bill focuses on how student loan debt is handled in bankruptcy. Traditionally, student loans are non-dischargeable in a personal bankruptcy case, unless a specific set of criteria are met. The “Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020,” proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) proposes a way to make this process easier, allowing more student loans to be discharged through personal bankruptcy. The bill addresses both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases and proposes changing the current systems under each chapter by one system, entitled Chapter 10.  

student loan debt, Student Loans

Baby Boomers and Higher-Income Earners Carry Largest Amount of Student Loan Debt

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Student loan debt affects more than 44 million Americans, a collective $1.67 trillion in outstanding student loans.  Members of the Baby Boomer generation owe the largest portion of student loan debt, as well as borrowers who earn higher incomes. 

According to a recent study by Fidelity, that surveyed 250,000 outstanding student loans, Baby Boomers owed 33 percent (33%) more debt in 2020 than they did in 2019. The biggest reason for this increase has to do with the number of Baby Boomers who took out Parent Plus loans to help their children and grandchildren attend college.  

student loan debt, Student Loans

A New Loophole for Certain Kinds of Private Student Loans

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Student loan debt has traditionally been extremely difficult to discharge in consumer bankruptcy cases. For those consumers struggling with insurmountable student loan debt, the ability to seek a fresh start through a bankruptcy case has been impossible for this reason. Even if they are able to successfully discharge most of their debts, they still walk away with a significant amount of  student loan debt, including both federal and private student loans. A new loophole could change this fact for borrowers who are struggling to pay their private student loan debts.  

A staggering 45 million American consumers owe a collective $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. Over one million borrowers defaulted on their student loan debt annually. The only method available to these borrowers to discharge their loans in bankruptcy is to meet the “undue hardship” test. Unfortunately, courts view this exception very narrowly and not all courts apply the test uniformly.

Debt Relief

How To Ensure Student Loan Debt Does Not Prevent You From Getting a Mortgage

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With the cost of attending a university rising each year, more students are taking out student loans to pay for their education.  According to statistics from the Federal Reserve and New York Federal Reserve, more than 44 million American consumers owe a collective $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. Student borrowers oftentimes graduate with up to six figures in student loan debt. Certain steps can be taken to ensure that student loans do not prevent young adults from reaching important milestones, like homeownership.   

Income-to-Debt Ratio 

When being approved for a mortgage, the borrower’s income-to-debt ratio is an important figure considered by potential lenders. Two different ratios are used by potential lenders. One of them is called a front-end ratio, which looks at the loan applicant’s expected mortgage in comparison to his or her monthly income. The second ratio is called the back-end ratio. This figure reviews the applicant’s monthly expenses, including housing costs, car payments, student loan payments, and other monthly expenses, in comparison to the person’s monthly income. If the borrower’s debt far outweighs his or her income, it is unlikely that person will be approved for a mortgage. However, certain steps can be taken to help boost that ratio. If the potential borrower is carrying a high credit card balance, by paying that balance down, he or she can help boost chances of being approved for a mortgage. If the borrower can pay down the balance in full every month, then that debt will not even factor into his or her debt-to-income ratio.  

student loan debt, Student Loans

Half a Million Borrowers Petition President Trump to Have Their Student Loan Debt Cancelled

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More than half a million student loan borrowers have signed a petition posted on Change.org, asking that President Trump sign an executive order that would effectively cancel all federally held student loans. This request makes up around 85 percent of all outstanding student loan debt.

The creator of the petition and founder of student loan advocacy group, StudentLoanJustice.org, Alan Collinge, stated he created this petition as he believes this would be the least expensive way, as well as the most effective way, to bring in trillions of dollars into the national economy. During a time of global pandemic, where the economy has taken a hit, he believes this would be the best way to give the economy a boost.

student loan debt, Student Loans

Bankruptcy Court Discharges $200,000 in Private Student Loan Debt for Colorado Couple

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A major victory was scored for student loan borrowers after a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a ruling stating that a Colorado couple’s private student loan debt could be discharged in their personal bankruptcy case. The ruling allowed $200,000 of private student loan debt to be wiped out, breaking the long-standing stigma that student loan debt, particularly private student loan debt, is near impossible to discharge in a bankruptcy case.

The Colorado couple had taken out $200,000 in private student loans from Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan issuers. The ruling comes after a similar bankruptcy case, where the borrower also had their student loan debt discharged. In that case, the loan servicer appealed the ruling.

Credit Card Debt, Debt Relief, Medical Debt, student loan debt

Tips for Managing Student Loans, Medical Debt, Credit Cards and More

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DMP - Debt Management Plan acronym, business concept background

Consumer debt encompasses several different categories. However, many people often struggle with the same few categories, mainly student loans, medical debt, and credit card debt. It helps to know how to attack the debt individually in each category if a consumer is looking to pay down their various debts.

Student Loan Debt

If you are struggling with student loan debt, you’re not alone. In fact, it has been reported that Americans carry over $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. This figure amounts to an average individual load of $32,731 per student. If the consumer proceeds towards a master’s degree or professional degree following graduation from undergraduate studies, that amount can get into six figures. Paying down that debt can be a struggle for many, especially during recent times. Currently, the federal government has issued a forbearance on all federal student loan debt during the COVID-19 crisis, which has been extended past September 30.

student loan debt, Student Loans

What Borrowers Need to Know About the New Executive Order- “Continued Student Loan Payment Relief During the COVID-19 Pandemic”

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A new executive order signed by President Trump is expected to give additional relief to student loan borrowers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is important that all student loan borrowers be aware of what these changes entail and how they can affect their outstanding student loan balances.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, that included relief effort for numerous aspects of the economy. The CARES Act paused all federal student loan payments and stopped interest from being incurred on federal student loans. Additionally, the stimulus bill put a stop to all federal student loan collection efforts. However, this bill was passed at the beginning of the pandemic with the thought that relief would no longer be needed through the end of 2020 with the hopes that the COVID-19 crisis would eventually be subsiding. Given the fact that numbers of positive cases are growing, and states are struggling to manage the crisis, it has quickly become clear that additional relief was needed. The original relief offered through the CARES Act was set to expire on September 30, 2020.