College graduation is right around the corner and that means thousands of students will be getting their diplomas and walking off the stage into amazing amounts of debt. Every year the amount of student debt that people acquire continues to rise and this puts many young people in difficult situations. There are many students that end up living in squalor or even filing for bankruptcy. If you are one of the few who have chosen that second option, there are things you need to know and people who can help you get the answers that you need.
How to Get a Fresh Start
The biggest thing about student loans is that they can be hard to discharge in the bankruptcy process, however, it is not impossible. In order to have your loans discharged you must prove that they are having a negative impact on both you and any dependents. You must prove 1 of the following:
- The loans cannot be paid by your level of income.
- There are other circumstances in your life causing an inability to pay.
- You have made a good effort to pay back the loan, but you are now unable to.
If you can prove any of these three things, or all of them, you have a better chance of having your loans discharged and giving yourself a fresh start.
How to Discharge Loans
In order to have student loans discharged due to hardship you must file what is called a petition. This petition is what shows the courts in your state that you have hardships making it impossible for you to pay back what you owe. In the end, it is up to the courts to decide if your hardship qualifies to discharge your loan. Hardships that are often successful in court include:
- You have reached maximum earning and the loans would contribute to the cycle of poverty
- You have a low paying job and copious amounts of other payments, but have made an effort to try and restructure your payments but they are still harming your family
- You have medical payments that take a bulk of your income
- You went to a fraudulent school or can prove that you did not benefit from the education you received
If you are under piles of student loans, do not feel overwhelmed. Call Clark & Washington. Our expert lawyers can help you get out from under the mountain of debt.
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