The highest priority that the Department of Education should be focused on now is updating borrowers’ payment counts with the IDR adjustment/audit.
We have had so many people benefit from this over the past couple years – but there are still large numbers of people who have consolidated their Direct loans under the promise of the IDR recount and they are waiting for the recount…
Haven’t heard of this before?
Wow, record attendance expected today for a webinar I’m presenting in a couple hours at CPA Academy. The topic? What else but student loans after the election…
Student Loan Forgiveness: Evaluating the National Landscape and Loan Programs. On live today at 4:00 p.m. EST, will be recorded for anyone who wants to watch later. You can find this via CPAAcademy.org. Just search “Arkovich” and it comes right up. Or type in some words from the title. I couldn’t find a direct link. That’s probably b/c I’m old. There, I admitted it. But I still play lots of video games so I’m good.
1135 registrations thus far.
If you have debt issues and are in the Tampa Bay area, the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida is headquartered in downtown Tampa, Florida. It serves Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.
If you are in any of these counties, and are running into debt related problems, we may have a solution for you. This includes pretty much every kind of debt, even including student loans. There are solutions out there, and we try to avoid political minefields whenever possible – and look for real solutions available now!
We do charge for student loan related Strategy Conferences as we can often fix the problem right during the conference, and we have free consultations for other kinds of debt. See what options exist. Real options. Consults are available by phone or Zoom. While we have a physical office in Tampa, we find that most everyone finds it far more convenient and efficient to do these virtually.
So what exactly does a Chapter 13 do with regard to debt that is co-signed by someone who did not file bankruptcy? What about debt that survives a bankruptcy such as many (but not all) student loans?
First off, a co-debtor stay is imposed immediately when a Chapter 13 is filed. That means any collection action, including phone calls, are supposed to cease immediately for the co-borrower even though he or she did not file their own bankruptcy.
Second, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan payments appear to toll the statute of limitations whether or not the trustee makes the payments once a creditor files its proof of claim that survives any debtor objections.
My sister in law showed me her phone and over just one day she received 5 different messages regarding her student loans. Two were from Navient and Earnest. While she didn’t click them to see what they were, I’m certain they were solicitations to refinance her federal loans to a private loan.
Be wary of those. When interest rates were low, and forgiveness opportunities were also low, refinance made sense for our high wage earners. Less interest, lower payment, loan repaid much faster.
Now however, forgiveness options are all over the place and many are working. It’s a bit of a mess, but steering through the debris can result in student loan forgiveness. But only for federal loans. If you refinance your loans now, you’ll likely have higher interest, no income driven plans, no or limited forbearance, little protections for disability and certainly no forgiveness.
What should you receive once your enrollment is secure?
Your student loans on studentaid.com should now show:
You enrolled in Fresh Start Transfer on 09/30/2024. Your debts have not yet transferred to your new loan servicer. There is no payment due at this time. You should receive additional communications within the next 30-45 days.
Parent Plus Borrowers: There is a pending bill called The Parent Plus Parity Act. If this bill becomes law it will:
Great news on the IDR Recount/Audit. The student loan ombudsman Bonnie Latreille said the Department of Education are almost done processing the One-Time Account Adjustment and that should be done very soon. She also said that borrowers who have multiple consolidations might see a delay—just because it’s trickier to calculate these more complex accounts. Stay tuned.
This IDR recount is very important for many because under this program you can obtain long lost credit for periods of repayment, forbearance and deferment prior to your Direct Consolidation loans – that was formerly just gone.
Also, if you utilize Fresh Start before midnight 9/30 for any defaulted loans, you can also receive IDR credit for the Covid period – back to March 2020. That’s another 4.5 years.
NEW – If you cannot get through to Default Resolution Group or FFEL Guarantor so client can enroll in Fresh Start by midnight Eastern on 9/30, THERE IS A NEW WAY TO ENROLL BY EMAIL!
ON https://myeddebt.ed.gov/borrower/ SKIP WHITE BUTTONS, and READ LIGHT BLUE BANNER ACROSS TOP OF PAGE. CLICK ON THE SMALL click here “to submit an email requesting enrollment into the Fresh Start program, select “Other” in the Inquiry Subject Area dropdown and type “I would like to enroll into Fresh Start” in the Question/Inquiry field.”
Take a screenshot, or a phone pic of the screen when you submit. Just in case…
The SBA is sending out e-mails that seem to indicate that even though the signature block for the borrower is a corporate entity or LLC, the individual signing is also somehow liable in a personal capacity. But they also confirm that loans up to $200,000 require no personal guaranty. The language is as follows:
Personal Guaranty:
$0 – $200,000: No personal guaranty required
Reboot Your Life: Tampa Student Loan and Bankruptcy Attorney Blog