Bankruptcy is finally working for people with student loans — I expect to have a series up shortly about all the ways a bankruptcy can help now with both federal and private student loans.  This didn’t used to be true, and you may find people out there who follow those old rules and say that bankruptcy cannot help with student loans.  I’m afraid that after the IDR audit expires (deadline next Tues – 4/30), bankruptcy will in fact be one of the best – and often overlooked options to reduce crazy student loan debt. Total and Permanent Disability discharges are also going strong — and n ..read more

Don’t forget, next Tues the 30th, is the consolidation application deadline for the IDR account adjustment – often referred to as the IDR Audit.  It’s also the last day before the PSLF processing pause goes into effect, so you may wish to download your payment tracking data from MOHELA before that date. For more info on the PSLF processing pause:  https://studentloanborrowerassistance.org/the-pslf-processing-pause-what-you-should-know/ For more info on the IDR Audit and how it can help you obtain forgiveness by consolidating before 4/30:  https://studentloanborrowerassistance.or ..read more

As we race toward the 4/30/24 deadline for submitting a consolidation application for the IDR Audit deadline, please know that Nelnet has the following phone and email.  They will accept a consolidation application by email.  We recommend calling them a few days after to verify receipt of the application.  There was no hold time as of today! Nelnet Consolidation 866-426-6765 DirectLoanConsol@nelnet.net The post Consolidate by 4/30/24 for IDR Audit – Nelnet Accepts by Email! appeared first on Reboot Your Life: Tampa Student Loan and Bankruptcy Attorney Blog ..read more

Many questions surround the possibility and even probability of discharging student loans in bankruptcy.  The law around student loan dischargeability hasn’t changed in many years, the way I understand it – it’s just that newer theories on applying that law to private student loans have come to the forefront in recent years and then we had the rise of the Federal attestation process even more recently this past year.  The new bankruptcy IDR rules go into effect in July this summer and apply to any pending case.  There have also been a few class actions allowing for more certaint ..read more

We’ve received some repeat questions lately by parents whose children are still in college.  Basically, they are worried that there isn’t enough time to get a double consolidation done to get into SAVE. Here’s the rules: The loan does have to be fully disbursed. The post Parent Plus loans for those still in college? appeared first on Reboot Your Life: Tampa Student Loan and Bankruptcy Attorney Blog ..read more

A little birdie told me that Sunday’s show will be about student loans.  I just watched the one last week on Boeing and it was really good!  Made me pretty happy not to own Boeing stock… Here is the Boeing story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8oCilY4szc You can watch/stream Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on MAX, Max Amazon Channel and Spectrum on Demand as well as HBO of course. With over 9 million views on the Boeing story, we are hopeful that this show on student loans will help raise awareness of the upcoming April 30, 2024 deadline to apply to consolidate the older federal ..read more

For those of you who are on the receiving end of credit dings due to federal agencies messing up your student loans, the recent Kirtz decision allows a consumer to sue a federal agency under 15 U.S.C. Sections 1681n and 1681o for defying the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  The history of this case can be found here:  https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/department-of-agriculture-rural-development-rural-housing-service-v-kirtz/ While the case itself dealt with some agricultural entity, it will apply to all federal agencies that seek immunity from wrongdoing under the F ..read more

Remember, any private or federal student loan debt that is forgiven before December 31, 2025 is not subject to federal tax. Due to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 loans that are forgiven are not considered taxable income for federal income tax purposes. Since state and local tax implications will vary, we recommend you contact a tax advisor for more information. I’m working on a new blog about 1098s that we are hearing going out to borrowers for interest that is rolled into a consolidation or forgiveness under the Borrower Defense program.  That should be out in a couple days. The po ..read more

Finally!  Relief for Joint Spousal Consolidation Federal Student Loans Did you know that married couples were allowed to consolidate their debt under a program that existed from 1993 to 2006 which allowed a single monthly payment and often a lower interest rate.  But it meant that each spouse was 100% liable for the other spouse’s debt.  Moreover, borrowers who had these Joint Spousal Consolidation loans were often left out of most programs.  We’ve long known of the problems plaguing borrowers in this “One Way In, No Way Out” program. Borrowers were unable to sever the loan ..read more

Good news: the Administration announced last week that in February, it will begin early implementing the SAVE provisions that provide cancellation of borrowers’ remaining balance in as few as 10 years of qualifying payments depending on the total amount originally borrowed. Borrowers enrolled in SAVE will have their remaining balance forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments if they originally took out $12k or less in federal student loans, with one additional year of payments required for every additional $1,000 borrowed, up to a max of 20 years for those with only undergraduate loans, a ..read more