How a Bankruptcy Attorney Can Help with Student Loan Debt

For anyone in South Florida struggling with student loan debt, it is essential to learn more about how an experienced West Palm Beach bankruptcy lawyer can help you. Over the years, many student loan borrowers have heard that it was extremely difficult, or even impossible, to have their student loans discharged by filing for bankruptcy. Even in the past, the notion that student loans could not be discharged was a misconception. At the same time, it is critical to know that, since late 2022, the process for discharging student loans in a consumer bankruptcy case has become significantly easier.

So, how can a bankruptcy attorney help you with student loan debt? We can assess your student loan history to help you determine whether you could be eligible to have your loans discharged, guide you through the bankruptcy process (including the required adversary proceeding), and represent you as you ask the bankruptcy court to provide a full or partial discharge of your student loans.

Assessing Your Eligibility for Discharge 

If you are trying to decide whether or not to file for bankruptcy — based on the likelihood of your student loans being discharged — an experienced lawyer can begin working with you to understand your circumstances and to assess the likelihood of your eligibility for discharge.

Under the new process, debtors still file an adversary proceeding as part of their bankruptcy case, but the process runs much more smoothly and quickly. To show eligibility for discharge — i.e., to prove that continuing to make student loan payments would impose an undue hardship — debtors submit information through a 15-page “attestation form.” Then, Department of Justice attorneys look at the information in relation to three factors: 1) debtor’s current ability to pay their loans, 2) future ability to pay their loans, and 3) good faith effort to pay or manage student loan debt. A bankruptcy lawyer can also assess this information in advance and help you to understand the likelihood that your student debt could be fully or partially discharged.

Working with You on Your Bankruptcy Case 

If there is a strong possibility that your student loans will be eligible for discharge, your bankruptcy lawyer will assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy case, including the initial filing, the adversary proceeding and attestation form, and any other required documentation.

At Kelley, Fulton, Kaplan & Eller, we are routinely assisting student debtors with bankruptcy cases involving student loans and can speak with you about your circumstances.

Contact a West Palm Beach Bankruptcy Attorney Today 

Student loan debt is weighing down millions of Americans. Indeed, according to data recently reported in NerdWallet, as of the beginning of 2024, student loan borrowers collectively owe $1.74 trillion in federal and private student loan debt, and more than half of all college graduates with a bachelor’s degree have student loans that average nearly $30,000 (with some totaling significantly more). If you want to find out more about taking advantage of the new process for having student loans discharged through bankruptcy, you should contact one of the experienced West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorneys at Kelley, Fulton, Kaplan & Eller to learn more about how we can help you.

Sources:

justice.gov/ust/student-loan-guidance#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Justice%2C%20in,it%20easier%20for%20Justice%20Department

nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/student-loan-debt