Student loans are very difficult to discharge in bankruptcy.  However, they can be discharged in either Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy under certain circumstances.  There are two main reasons for discharging student loans in bankruptcy, a) if the debtor dies and b) if repaying the debt would cause an undue hardship on the debtor.  The fact that “undue hardship” has not been clearly defined …

Category: Bankruptcy , Credit Crisis , Economy , Filing Bankruptcy , Student Loans

Tags: Bankruptcy hardship Student Loans

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… loan allows them fast access to money for 30 days; but unfortunately at a high price.  Car title loans have interest rates that can climb as high as 25 percent per month.  Car title lenders will loan the debtor a small amount of cash in exchange for a promise that if they don’t repay the loan, the lender can take the car.   But what happens most often is that debtors pay on the loan for months and end up sometimes paying more than their car is worth.

For example let’s say a debtor …

Category: Car Loans / Title Loans , Debt Collectors , Loans / Mortgages

Tags: Car Loans / Title Loans interest

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Checkbook loans were created to disguise payday loans after tighter restrictions were put on payday loans.

 

Everyday people get into situations where they need money now, but they don’t have it.  Cars break down, heaters quit working, bills have to be paid, and sometimes the money just isn’t there.  When this happens, one source people turn to for money is payday loans.  Payday loans …

Category: Economy , Loans / Mortgages , Managing Your Finances , Pay Day Loans

Tags: Payday Loan Reform Act Payday Loans

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… this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans.    Instead, let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants.    And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years –- and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a …

Category: Economy , Student Loans

Tags: College Economy President Barack Obama State of the Union Student Loans

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… We were even treated to televised rants about how “good people” shouldn’t be forced to pay for their bad neighbors’ financial decisions by saving them from foreclosure.  Now that was back in 2008.  Since then we’ve learned that it wasn’t that these homeowners facing foreclosure were irresponsible or bad; but they were simply good people who had been stuck with bad loans and put into a situation where they were vulnerable to foreclosure.  Many of the people who in error …

Category: Economy , Foreclosures , Loans / Mortgages

Tags: foreclosure loans Making Home Affordable Predatory Lending

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Student loans are almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy, with exception of undue hardship as most graduates who have fallen upon hard times have eventually discovered.  But according to an article in Inside Higher Education, legislators are now moving to consider altering the bankruptcy code to change the way private student loans are treated during bankruptcy.

A quick overview:  Private …

Comment author: Consolidate loans

Category: Bankruptcy , Student Loans

Permalink: /bankruptcy/will-student-loans-soon-become-dischargeable-in-bankruptcy/

… We’ve all heard the saying that the best offense is good defense.  The same goes with student loans.  The best offense is to be defensive in applying for student loans.  Historically, students and parents borrowed money for a majority of college expenses. However, over the last two years, more parents and students are become more prudent in their choices regarding college to alleviate many of the problems with student loans.

According to an article in the Austin American Statesman, …

Comment by Jacob Decker: … not have student loans!

Category: Dallas Bankruptcy , Pay Day Loans , Student Loans

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Many people ask me about discharging student loans when they’re looking into filing for bankruptcy.  Typically, student loans aren’t discharged during bankruptcy proceedings.  It’s not impossible to accomplish if you can show that paying the student loan debt “will impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents”.  Bankruptcy judges use various tests to determine whether a borrower has proven undue hardship.

One common …

Comment by Jacob Decker: … all student loans are essentially put in deferment …

Category: Pay Day Loans , Repossessions , Student Loans

Permalink: /repossessions/student-loans-and-bankruptcy-can-i-discharge-my-loans-2/

Car title loans are marketed by creditors as a savior for the little guy; but these high interest loans are much like payday loans in that they can carry a triple-digit annual interest rate and are very difficult to repay in full when you’re already struggling financially.  Let’s take close look at car title loans and how they work.

Car title loans typically have an annual interest rate of 300% …

Comment by Jacob Decker: … payday or title loans? Why do you suppose that is?

Category: Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , Loans / Mortgages , Pay Day Loans

Permalink: /chapter_7_bankruptcy/car-title-loans-put-you-at-financial-risk/

Many people ask me about discharging student loans when they’re looking into filing for bankruptcy. Typically, student loans aren’t discharged during bankruptcy proceedings. It’s not impossible to accomplish if you can show that paying the student loan debt “will impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents”. Bankruptcy judges use various tests to determine whether a borrower has proven undue hardship.

One common test …

Comment by Linnie Buckley: My student loans are out of control. Years ago, I …

Category: Bankruptcy , Debt Consolidation , Student Loans

Permalink: /debt_consolidation/student-loans-and-bankruptcy-can-i-discharge-my-loans/

… Worth area many people are living paycheck to paycheck and feeling forced to take out payday loans just to make it to the end of the month. But many of those people find that they are not able to repay the payday loans even once they receive their paychecks. So now payday lenders are starting to use a collection tool called “voluntary wage assignment.” Voluntary wage assignment is where the borrower agrees to willingly have their employer deduct a specific amount of money from …

Comment by Alvina Lofton: Payday Loans can get you in a lot of trouble …

Category: Pay Day Loans

Permalink: /pay_day_loans/voluntary-wage-assignments-payday-loans/

The DesMoines Register has a great column about how payday loans don’t really help the poor manage debt but in fact creates new debt and more stress. I couldn’t agree more!

The Des Moines Register: "A single payday loan is a terrible deal. The $15 fee on a two-week, $100 loan yields an astronomical 390 percent annual percentage rate. At that rate, a payday loan is comparable to money from a loan shark or the Mafia, albeit with better …

Category: Pay Day Loans

Tags: new debt Pay Day Loans

Permalink: /pay_day_loans/payday-loans-dont-equal-financial-sense/