Published on:

By

arkovich_law-narrowParent Plus loan borrowers and grad loan borrowers have received the short stick for all the recent announcements post the Supreme Court decision on student loan forgiveness.  The new bankruptcy rule will allow debtors to create a Chapter 13 Plan to easily provide IDR credit:

Changes:  We have revised §685.209(k)(4)(iv)(K) to provide that the Department will award credit toward IDR forgiveness for months where the Secretary determines that the borrower made payments under an approved bankruptcy plan.

While there is a process for this to occur now it is not widely understood and rarely used.  In most cases, borrowers owe more in federal student loans when they exit bankruptcy than what they owed before filing.  There is no reason why borrowers should not receive IDR credit towards their student loans during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy which often is five years.  This has been a big bone of contention of ours for several years.  Depending upon how the new change will be applied (the regs aren’t out yet), debtors should be able to obtain IDR credit while making a court approved payment plan which could be substantially lower than the normal IDR payment amount outside of bankruptcy.  This may be the only recourse available to those with Parent Plus loans who don’t or can’t double consolidate their loans in time to avoid ICR.  It may also be the only way to address a high payment for those with grad loans who have high medical, housing or family expenses and are stuck with an unaffordable IDR payment even under SAVE.  It will be particularly good for those in the next 12 months who won’t see the SAVE payment reductions until July 2024.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Need new hurricane windows, roof, exterior door or garage door upgrades, roof decks, reinforcement of roof to wall connections? – check out this 10k grant below, opened up with new funding on July 1 for Florida homeowners.  It’ll match $2 for every $1 you spend.  No state tax on several items for 12 months.  Don’t wait to apply, more applications being filed every day.

Requirements:

    •  Single family residence or townhome
Continue reading →
Published on:

By

arkovich_law-narrowI was reading about Solomon’s Paradox today:  We’re better at solving other people’s problems than our own, because detachment yields objectivity.”  So true.  I enjoy solving a client’s problem, will do multiple rounds of negotiation, think outside the box for unusual solutions etc.  But when faced with buying a new truck, I recently told my husband that I’d rather get a root canal.  These things are fun when done for others, but simply work when done for yourself.

Then I saw Kross’s update in 2014 who stated “viewing oneself in the 3rd person yields the same detachment, so when trying to help yourself, imagine you’re helping a friend.”

I often will say in consults that if someone were a member of my family, I’d recommend….  Good approach for our law firm to take, as well as for personal matters.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By
We’re presenting at a Webinar on Tues (on demand later) for student loan update post Supreme Court decision. Cost is only $25 through PLI.
Or you could read the 427 pages of new IDR regs if you prefer 🙂
Continue reading →
Published on:

By

arkovich_law-narrowCan I do All This Myself or Do I Need an Attorney?

Yes, dealing with your debt is something you can do yourself. But like anything, sometimes it is better to hire someone who does this day in and day out. Particularly if you have a lot of debt or assets to protect.  Many of the borrowers we speak with are unaware of key governmental programs and how to jump through the various hoops to qualify. The student loan system itself is the least transparent of any system that I have ever seen in my 30 years of practicing law. For private loans, negotiation or litigation can be involved; both of which a borrower is not well suited for in most cases. We know deadlines that may apply for tax free relief.

If it’s a bankruptcy, we know all the trustees, the rules, the loopholes, basically how to not only get things done, but also to obtain the best result.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

arkovich_law-narrowBasically, a Rule 2004 exam is just like any other deposition.  In every bankruptcy case, a 341 creditors meeting is set approximately five weeks after a bankruptcy petition is filed.  A 341 examination is usually short (about 15 minutes on average) and viewed as the only opportunity for a creditor, trustee or other interested person to ask questions of  debtor under oath.  Rather than the “only” opportunity to test the debtor on the merits of his or her case, a 341 meeting is actually only the “first” opportunity to ask a debtor questions about their financial history or other relevant matter.  A much lesser used option exists to get a debtor under oath – the Rule 2004 Exam.

A 2004 exam can cover your pre-filing actions or conduct.  Often a debtor’s financial condition and debts are the prime focus of the exam.  Many 2004 exams are associated with a possible action to deny a bankruptcy discharge or some other adversarial case.  It is more formal and often involves production of documents.

Don’t forget-under § 727(a)(3), a discharge can be denied if the debtor, “failed to keep or preserve any recorded information, including books, documents, records, and papers, from which the debtor’s financial condition or business transactions might be ascertained, unless such act or failure to act was justified under all of the circumstances of the case…”

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

arkovich_law-narrowWe received this inquiry today from a fellow bankruptcy attorney:

I have a client who had a Chapter 13, which due to it being a 100% plan, ended off paying off the Proof of Claim Amount at 100% in the bankruptcy.

Years later, (Insert Private Student Loan Company Here) is coming back after her arguing that during the bankruptcy, interest continued to accrue, and now she owes $3,700 in interest. In the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Final Account they paid the POC principal PLUS interest.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Christie_1We’ve just learned that the U.S. Supreme court denied the 10k-20k forgiveness of federal student debt that was pending.  We were expecting that.  Unfortunately, most of our clients owe so much more anyway, and the other programs out there are doing so much more to get rid of this debt.

There are some things that will be coming out due to this decision that everyone should be aware of:

  • Servicers are being instructed to provide borrowers a 3-month “grace” or “safety net” period during which borrowers will not be treated as delinquent if they miss payments (though interest will continue to accrue). That 3-month period may be extended.
Continue reading →
Published on:

By

arkovich_law-narrowThe FHA Covid-19 Forbearances allow for reduced or suspended payments without specific terms of repayment, for six months at a time, up to 18 months.  Deadline for applications was May 11, 2023.  The end of the health emergency is now over.  If you’ve lost your income, job change or divorce for instance, you may have qualified for this relief.

A FHA Covid-19 Modification is called Advance Loan Modification.  If a mortgage loan is in forbearance, the review will occur within 30 days of forbearance ending.  For those mortgage loans are not in forbearance, if the loan is 90 plus days delinquent it must be reviewed for a modification offer on or before 10/30/2024.  This is still in effect!

January 2023 new guidelines:  a substantial change is that the guidance now applies for non-occupied borrowers.  Some other notes:

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Christie_1We’ve seen some confusion out there about whether those with disability discharges for federal student loans are required to provide income information going forward.  This is because the new rule hasn’t yet gone into effect.  But it will before the repayment pause ends so no worries.

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-releases-final-regulations-expand-and-improve-targeted-debt-relief-programs

The rule eliminates the three-year income monitoring requirement that too often caused borrowers to lose their discharges solely because they failed to respond to paperwork requests.

Continue reading →
Contact Information
1520 W Cleveland St
Tampa, FL 33606
Phone: (813) 258-2808
Fax: (813) 258-5911
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This website is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney / client relationship.

We are a Debt Relief Agency under the United States Bankruptcy Code. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2015 – 2025, Arkovich Law
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design