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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.

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arkovich_law-narrowSo 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.

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Christie_1My 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.

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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.

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Christie_1Parent Plus Borrowers:  There is a pending bill called The Parent Plus Parity Act.  If this bill becomes law it will:

  • Make Parent PLUS borrowers eligible for all income-driven repayment plans—including SAVE
  • Allow loan forgiveness if the child becomes eligible for Total and Permanent Disability discharge
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Christie_1Great 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.

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Christie_1NEW – 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…

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arkovich_law-narrowThe 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

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arkovich_law-narrowCall me jaded, but the Florida Uniformed Servicemembers’ Protection Act is a junk consumer law.   

 The Florida Uniformed Servicemembers’ Protection Act was enacted by the Republican led legislature over twenty years ago to make a lot of noise about how much the GOP loves veterans.  Like most consumer statutes enacted by the Legislature since Democrats last ran the state in the 1990s, it is all about appearance and no substance. It is the paradigm of how not to write an effective consumer statute.  

 The only thing it added was some stupid requirement that state agencies create literature telling service members about the SCRA. And no requirement that any business actually hand them out.  Quite frankly, I doubt anyone at the state even bothered to check the literature.

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It’s free, it’s easy, it’s a way to get IDR credit for the Covid period, and to show your federal student loans were in good standing for the past 3.5 years during Covid.  Don’t let your federal loans remain in default, there is no win in doing so.  They don’t negotiate like private student loans do.

To use Fresh Start to get out of default, you must contact your loan holder. If your loans are held by ED, you can contact us using one of the three methods below. If your loans are held by a guaranty agency, you’ll need to call that agency. Find contact information for guaranty agencies.

If you don’t know who holds your loans, call 1-800-621-3115 (TTY 1-877-825-9923).

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