Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog
Student loans affect all generations of Americans, from millennials to baby boomers. A recent study in Detroit showed that people nearing retirement age are one of the fastest growing demographics with student loan debt. In this election year, many presidential candidates are promoting ways they would address the student debt crisis. Younger people who have just earned their degrees are having troubling buying houses since their student loan debt is so burdensome.
With tax season upon us, some student loan borrowers are shocked to find out that their student loan servicers can intercept their tax refunds in order to pay delinquent student loan debt.
While Americans can file bankruptcy to get relief from most types of debts, student loans are among the types of debts that a debtor may not discharge in bankruptcy unless paying them back would be an “undue hardship” on the debtor. (This standard is extremely hard to meet and in one older case from Jacksonville, even a lawyer who said an auto accident left her disabled, failed to meet the high standard). In order to address this issue, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Myers) recently instituted a “Student Loan Management Program” (Program).