What is the IDR Waiver? The Short Version: if you have an older FFEL loan, even a prior FFEL Consolidation Loan, make sure to consolidate this to a newer Direct Loan asap if you want all of the relief this program allows (contact us if you have any doubts or…
The Brunner standard is a legal test used in certain circumstances to determine whether a borrower’s federal student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy. The test was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Brunner v. New York State Higher Education Services Corp. (1987). The Brunner test…
Settling private student loans typically involves negotiating with the lender to reach an agreement on a new payment plan or a lump sum payment that is less than the full amount owed. Here are the steps to settle private student loans: Gather information: Get a detailed understanding of your current…
There are several ways to discharge federal student loans, including: Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge: If you are completely and permanently disabled, you may be eligible for TPD discharge. Death discharge: If the borrower of a federal student loan dies, the loan may be discharged. Closed School discharge: If…
The Borrower Defense to Repayment (BDTR) program has undergone so many changes over the past decade it’s hard to keep track. Notably, I wanted to set the record straight for those who may be receiving weird messages about their pending BDTR apps. Only the 2019 Borrower Defense Rule imposed a…
The average auto loan interest rates reported by DealerTrack are getting crazy high – hitting a decade high now: New cars: 8.41% Used cars: 12.88% Credit Unions are still around 4% -6% so that may be the best option for now. As bankruptcy attorneys, there are some cautionary tales involving…
Did you realize that we have free videos on what to do about your student loan on our YouTube Channel “Student Loan Sidebar”? Here’s a post from a few hours ago from one of our followers: YouTube videos on student loan forgiveness have just been absolutely amazing. They break it…
Consumer complaints in Florida have a few things going for them that can make them easy to prove. One of the things that benefits Florida consumers is our use of the “least sophisticated” debtor test. What does this actually mean? A person’s individual capacity to understand a collections letter is…
First, and I must stress, EIDL loans are not forgivable. They were intended to help small businesses recover from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, EIDL Advance funds are like grants and do not have to be repaid. More information is available on the SBA website: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/eidl If…
I had a consult recently that is a good overview of what questions our clients have and how we are able to drill down to the essentials and help determine the best path forward to ending student loan debt. This client reached out to us after viewing one of our…