Student loans

Published on: January 19, 2023

REPAYE will be Revamped and the Changes are FANTASTIC!

New IDR Terms Announced! Sorry for the delay in getting this out, Covid has put me behind a week or so.

The new IDR Plan expected out in July before the payment pause ends will not exactly be a new plan. Instead of confusing borrowers and making yet another IDR plan, the Department of Education has decided to modify the terms of the existing Repaye plan to try and simply things. While some of us are a little worried that this process would enable a future administration to change the terms back, we do feel that the steps underway will be a huge improvement for federal student loan borrowers. Also, it would be difficult for a new administration to back date substantive negative changes so while we don’t expect this to occur, it’s in the back of our minds.

The changes are underway now and a formal 30 day comment period commenced a few days ago. If the terms do not meaningfully change before implementation this summer or fall, here’s what to expect:

Continue reading →

Published on: January 19, 2023

Is it a Good Idea to Consolidate Student Loans Before Filing Bankruptcy, or Should You Wait?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Under the new provisions allowing a Debtor to attest to an undue hardship, a consolidation pre-filing would be viewed as evidence of good faith – this is the box that may be checked:

engaging meaningfully with a third party they believed would assist them in managing their student loan debt.

Also, there could be problems if a consolidation is later done after filing as this would create a new post-petition debt that the Court may not be able to discharge effectively. As always, please consult with a bankruptcy and student loan attorney as this can get complicated and you are usually talking about a very large debt and don’t want to make any mistakes. Here’s the case law for the above assertions:

Continue reading →

Published on: December 22, 2022

When Can You Expect Your Federal Loans to be Forgiven?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

We are seeing forgiveness every week, more likely every day, now, but many are still waiting…

Interestingly, the huge spending bill being discussed by Congress right now does not include anything additional to Federal Student Aid.

What does this mean? Well, the FSA has to modernize its National Student Loan Database System to make it far more transparent than it currently is, provide a viewable tracking IDR payment mechanism, switch all servicer websites to its own government website, restart payments in August-ish, introduce a new IDR program in July, process the PSLF Waiver, implement and process the IDR Waiver, create and process a Joint Spousal Consolidation application to separate the loans, possibly cancel 10k or 20k pending the result of the Supreme Court, plus grant the discharges for all Borrower Defense to Repayment applications along with refunds for any monies paid to ED for over 100 schools approved by the Sweet v. Cardano class settlement. Wow.

Continue reading →

Published on: December 22, 2022

Right to the Source: the Final Rules Approved for Federal Loan Repayment Changes Effective July 2023

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

This is not recommended as bedtime reading, but sometimes it does help to go right to the source when trying to figure out what the new rules are and how they may apply to your loans. The Final Regulations go into effect July 2023 and can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/11/01/2022-23447/institutional-eligibility-under-the-higher-education-act-of-1965-as-amended-student-assistance

One big answer for BDTR applicants – the Regulatory Action will: Provide for a full discharge of all remaining loan balances and a refund of all amounts paid to the Secretary for loans associated with an approved BD claim.

The timing is estimated to be within 12 months.

Published on: December 8, 2022

Bankruptcy is Finally an Option for Federal Student Loans

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Here’s a news clip on this topic that ran yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77xsEU7rFM0

It’s a good short 2 minute summary of what this means and well worth a listen! I haven’t seen this in the news much and we really need to get the word out because in my 30 years of practice, I see this as finally working to discharge significant federal student loan debt.

So how are we starting on this to get our student loan and bankruptcy clients discharges in 2023?

Continue reading →

Published on: November 22, 2022

Pause Extended Once Again

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Federal student loan paused again till June 30, 2023 or until 60 days after a final disposition of the lawsuits that are currently blocking student debt relief — whichever is sooner.

Working on a bankruptcy summary now — lots of new tools to add to our toolbox to help end student loan debt!

Published on: October 30, 2022

PSLF Deadline of 10/31 to Sign PSLF Application and have Employer sign Certification

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Urgent 10/31 deadline for PSLF

We have learned that not only must the employer certification be dated 10/31 or before, but borrowers must use the PSLF HelpTool to download and sign the PSLF application by end of day 10/31. We recommend doing so as soon as possible to avoid any technical problems.

The application itself can be mailed or faxed after 10/31, but must be signed with a date of 10/31 at the latest.

Continue reading →

Published on: October 22, 2022

PSLF Waiver Deadline: One Week Left

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Borrowers seeking public service loan forgiveness have ONE week left or until October 31, 2022, to:

Get your consolidation application filed for any FFEL or Perkins loans to make them eligible; AND
Have your employer sign the PSLF certification form.

Continue reading →

Published on: October 21, 2022

10k Forgiveness is Only a Small Part of Student Loan Forgiveness!

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

We were able to help Michelle get rid of $160,000 in federal student loan debt and she posted this Google review today. Note that the Biden forgiveness of 10k would have only been small drop in a very large bucket. There are lots of things going on out there – and if you have student loan debt, this year is the very best year for you to finally do something about it!

$160,000.oo in student loan debt gone. $160,000.oo to $0.oo I wasn’t sure at first. They helped me file for my total and permanent disability discharge. I had my initial consultation with Attorney Arkovich and she was spot on with everything. After my initial consultation I worked with Jeremy on everything. He always answered my emails and phone calls quickly no matter the question. Even after my discharge he responded quickly to a question I had. I never thought I would get rid of my student loan debt. With my health failing it was a burden that I would never be able to manage. I would recommend Attorney Arkovich to any disabled person who needs help. My personal experience was exceptional. Thank you Attorney Arkovich and Jeremy 😃

Published on: October 12, 2022

Joint Spousal Loans Be Gone!!!!

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Much like the chaos of a Targaryen family dinner, the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act was signed into law today by President Biden – which creates an enormous timing problem.

While this is awesome news for borrowers of federal student loans who are trapped in this “One Way In, No Way Out” Spousal consolidation program where none of the newest and best ways to obtain forgiveness applies — there is one very large problem and that is timing.

You only have two weeks to take advantage of this change for public service work!!! Why isn’t this being talked about?

Continue reading →