3 Ways to Get Student Loan Debt Discharged

Now that students are back in college, some students and parents are find themselves recovering from tuition, books, room and board and the cafeteria plan. When a student decides to attend college, many times the student has no idea of how to pay for their education. They file FAFSA forms and get financial aid, grants, and student loans.

Often times, when students come out of college, they’re unable to pay their loans back. According to Student Loan Hero, 69% of college students took out student loans and graduated with an average debt of $29,800 in private and federal loans. Below you’ll discover three ways to get your student loan debt discharged. This includes bankruptcy discharge, closed school discharge, and discharge due to death.

Bankruptcy Discharge

Unfortunately, student loans cannot be discharged in a normal bankruptcy proceeding. In order to have student loans discharged in bankruptcy, you must go through a process called an adversary proceeding. The adversary proceeding is a separate case from your bankruptcy case. This case is the determining factor as to whether the court will discharge all or part of your student loan debt.

The adversary proceeding is much like a mini trial within the bankruptcy case. During this process, a bankruptcy judge will rely on the Brunner Test to determine whether or not  you have an undue hardship that prevents you from paying your student loans. In order to file a petition for an adversary proceeding and satisfy the Brunner Test, you will need to show:

• You can’t maintain a minimum standard of living for yourself and dependents, if applicable
• You will continue to experience financial hardship through your repayment period
• You made a good faith effort to repay the balance of the loan

Closed School Discharge

If your school closes while you’re enrolled in classes, you can seek student loan discharge under certain conditions. Some of the conditions include the following:

• You cannot complete the program because of the closing
• If the school closes within 90 days after you withdraw from the school

In order to begin the process for closed school discharge, contact your loan service provider to receive an application. Be sure you have evidence of attendance such as your academic and financial statements.

Loan Discharge Due to Death

This is an unfortunate way to get student loans discharged, but if a student loan borrower dies, each Federal student loan will be discharged. In order to get a student loan discharged due to death, a death certificate must be supplied to the school or loan service provider to begin the discharge.

Contact Our Experienced West Palm Beach Student Loan Attorney for Help with Discharging Student Loans.

If you’re a parent, college student, or recent college graduate in Florida and having difficulty maintaining student loan repayment, speak with the West Palm Beach student loans attorneys at Kelley Kaplan & Eller. Because discharging student loans is often a complicated process, our attorney will make sure you understand the adversary proceeding and the intricacies of the bankruptcy process. For a no obligation consultation, contact our firm at 561-264-6850.