I read today in the Pomp Letter that the average credit card balance is $21,000. And the average interest rate is 28.6%. Just wow. In 30 months, the debt would double. In our bankruptcy practice here in Tampa, Florida, we are regularly seeing people with 100k of credit card debt.…
Reboot Your Life: Tampa Student Loan and Bankruptcy Attorney Blog
IBR for the Win! Send in a Paper IBR Application if You Want This!
So the big news in the world of student loans is that the online system has once again been shut down for consolidations and IDR applications – as of Friday, Feb 21. This is likely due to the 8th Circuit expanding its stay to stop all forgiveness under PAYE and…
BDTR Program in Limbo – Find Another Way Forward for Federal Student Loans
A post on Theresa Sweet’s [Plaintiff in Sweet v. Cardona’s class action BDTR lawsuit] Facebook page says the majority of workers reviewing BDTR claims have been laid off and majority of Ombudsman staff have been fired. For several months now, we have been of the opinion that while filing a…
Documents to Copy in Case of Department of Education changes
While it is unlikely that the Trump administration will close the Department of Education anytime soon, it is clear that ED will be dismantled in some form over the next few months to years. Many of its functions may discontinue or be passed to other federal or even state agencies.…
Total and Permanent Disability Discharge for Federal Student Loans Will Restart in March!
During all the hoopla surrounding student loans last year, probably the best program (TPD) out there gets so little attention. Right now, that’s probably a good thing right? I’m talking about the ability for someone who is unable to work a full time job doing what they used to do…
Ever Wonder what we do in a Student Loan Strategy Session Where Bankruptcy Presents Itself as a Fix?
I’m sharing this here — it’s also being provided to our fellow attorneys signing up for our NACA webinar today at 2:00 p.m. Helping your clients take their lives back from their student loans sometimes involve bankruptcy related solutions. While filing bankruptcy has typically NOT been helpful for those with…
Webinar Today at 2:00 p.m.
Much like the NASA moon landing, I have two very different powerpoints ready for a student loan presentation today at 2:00 p.m. for the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) And I might be checking X on my phone every few minutes to see if there is any new Executive…
Federal Student Loan Planning under a Trump Administration
Well, we are now midway into the second week of President Trump’s administration. What can we expect and how can you deal with your federal student loan payments? Importantly, there were no first day Executive Orders, and none so far other than the appointment of a new Secretary of Education. …
IDR Recount Still a Thing? Absolutely!!
We’re hearing that the results of the IDR recount is being posted as of last night on borrowers’ studentaid.gov site. Not all loans are processed yet, but most of the processing work for the adjustment is done. We’ll see this roll out to everyone over the next few weeks. This…
Housing Market Affordability?
While we’re waiting on some clarity on the student loan mess, I’ve been wandering around some facts and figures surrounding the housing market here in Florida. Our law firm was front and center during the 2008 financial crisis, handling thousands of short sales, loan modifications, deeds in lieu of foreclosure,…