Posted on 10/12/2015 8:26:54 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Mark Twain famously said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
That observation could easily be applied to the situation facing students who have amassed large college debt burdens: they think they know that those debts cannot be discharged through bankruptcy. But that just ain’t so.
The “undue hardship” provision in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code says that student loans cannot be discharged unless “excepting such debt … would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor’s dependents….” Just how difficult is it for a student debtor to get a court to rule that having to pay off student loans would be an “undue hardship”?
Actually, not as difficult as most people think.
Writing on Huffington Post, Steve Rhode (who calls himself the “get out of debt guy”) states, “The general perception is that federal student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Obviously that assumption is not true because an allowance exists for discharge in the case of undue hardship. But many incorrectly assume that threshold is impossible or nearly impossible to accomplish.”
Rhode finds the support for his conclusion in his analysis of 35 adversary proceedings in 2012 where the debtor sought discharge of student loans through bankruptcy. In those cases, the debtor won full discharge in 47 percent and received some reduction or more favorably repayment terms in another 33 percent.
Those 2012 numbers are in the same vicinity as the numbers calculated by Professor Jason Iuliano from cases filed in 2007, which formed the basis for his 2011 paper published in American Bankruptcy Journal, An Empirical Assessment of Student Loan Discharges and the Undue Hardship Standard.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Sure thing!
The Left appears to be openly lobbying for more Liberal judges to apply that rule ever-more Liberally.
It isn’t enough that Clinton lowered the interest rate of Sallie Mae student interest loans, then made the interest a tax deduction.
They want `out from under’ completely, the Democrats, particularly Shrillary, are dying to pander to them for their votes and the GOP-e will roll-over like two buck whores.
I paid 9% for many years on my student loans, had no tax deduction and wife and I finally took out a home equity loan to pay off the balance.
Throw the bums out!
Yeah, it was your choice. I paid mine, you can pay yours.
The articles linked are also good. To declare bankruptcy you need to have paid on time for 5 years and then have a good lawyer.
Another article has the answer to getting kids strapped with loans...
“Brannon has a good reply, however. “If we are concerned that allowing students to escape debt via bankruptcy might open up the college loan market to the same moral hazard problems that befell the mortgage market and will leave the government on the hook, we could make the institutions of higher learning assume their loan payments after a bankruptcy.”
Now we’re talking.
As things currently stand, colleges and universities have absolutely nothing to lose when they enroll students who have borrowed for the tuition but have minimal academic ability and interest. The schools pad their bottom lines (and never listen to anyone who tells you that non-profit entities aren’t interested in revenue maximization) and try to keep students happy with a weak curriculum and inflated grades. They bear no risk at all.
Suppose that we implemented Brannon’s idea and said to colleges and universities: If you enroll students who later go bankrupt, you take over the payments. The consequences would be dramatic.”
Who will hire me, indeed. I'm past my prime and on the downward slope of the hill.
I have a resume, professionally done, though it hasn't done me much good so far. As for Texas, yes, I have a son who lives in San Antonio and he's telling me to "come down here and get a real job."
Not sure what to make of that.
:-)
I've also been out of work, let's see (counting my fingers and toes here) at least a half a dozen times over my lifetime, and let me tell you, it's not fun.
You know, truth to tell, I don’t mind Indiana winters. I grew up with them. I lived in the N/W corner of the state up until 1982, and returned in 1989. Never been away since, but that’s not to say I’ll stay here if I find work elsewhere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.