Law Office of Chris Bush

10/15/2022

Federal student loan debt relief application is live. Apply by November 15 to get approved before the end of the payment pause!

04/20/2022

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education announced forthcoming changes to Income Driven Repayment ("IDR") programs. Many details have not been filled in yet but I anticipate having answers to questions soon.

If you think that you may be affected by these changes and would like assistance, please reach out.

Over 3.6 million borrowers are expected to benefit, with at least 40,000 borrowers receiving immediate student loan forgiveness.

10/28/2021

Keeping fingers crossed...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/10/27/student-loan-bankruptcy-education-department/?fbclid=IwAR2Ys303KeGJG3XvoEj5dWutH-XqBLTeBMpDTtqgNkwtv0uKfJ--oAFEIDg

Federal student aid chief Richard Cordray told Congress the Education Department and Justice Department are working to revise its policy of contesting requests for bankruptcy discharges from people deep in debt and short on resources.

08/04/2021

Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Conryn (R-TX) introduced a bill today that will greatly increase the ability of debtors to discharge many student loans in bankruptcy.

It's a good start, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't go far enough.

It will allow a person to discharge Federal student loan debt, or student loan debt backed by non-profits, in a bankruptcy case filed approximately 10 years after the repayment period of a loan begins. However, in a rather shocking display of the power of the banks and finance industry, this bill does nothing to address the massive private student loan debt problem. Private, for-profit loans will remain unchanged by this new law.*

Obviously, it's a long path from the introduction of a bill to the final enactment of a law, and a lot can happen in-between. I'll be keeping a close watch on this bill and post updates as they become available. For now, though, I think it is unlikely that this will change the immediate plans for many student loan debtors.

*Note that some private student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy under current law, and all student loans can be discharged (fully or partially) on a showing of "undue hardship on the debtor and their dependents".

07/19/2021

Unfortunately, this is a very lazy and inaccurate headline. This case doesn't say anything about the law that hasn't been very clearly established in other cases.

That said, there are many education-related debts that are not "student loans" as far as bankruptcy law is concerned. If you are overly burdened by your student loans please contact me for a free consultation.

A New York-based federal appeals court on Thursday said that private student loans are not protected from discharge in bankruptcy.

03/11/2021

It is long past the time for Congress to address this.

Federal repayment programs were introduced over two decades ago, but only 32 borrowers have ever had their loans fully canceled, a new report said.

01/15/2021

04/01/2020

Will banks, landlords and other debt collectors work with people who’ve lost income because of the coronavirus crisis? Help us find out.

03/28/2020

03/23/2020

Edmunds has assembled a list of resources to help you find relief from car payment anxiety during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.