On June 9, 2014, President Obama took action to make college more affordable. Can we call this what it really it is? It’s an act to make student loans more affordable. This act in no way makes college any more affordable than it already isn’t.
What the President did was expand a program he . . .
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Student Loan Debt Crisis Symposium Review
This past Friday I attended the ABI's (American Bankruptcy Institute) Student Loan Debt Crisis Symposium. It was...um...interesting. I say that because I came in with a unique perspective, being in the trenches and all. For me, it was more review and less of an informative or "problem solving" . . .
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Student Loans and Military Personal
Yesterday was Memorial Day, so it is only proper that I discuss protections from student loans for those who serve our country.
SCRA
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act has many provisions that apply to many other debts besides student loans. The important one here is the interest rate cap. All . . .
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Dear ED: Clarify Undue Hardship
On May 16, 2014, seven Congressmen/women sent a letter to Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, asking for clarification of "Undue Hardship" to allow Federal student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy. The signers of the letter were Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Elizabeth . . .
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FDIC v Sallie Mae
On May 13, 2014, two consent orders were issued: FDIC v Sallie Mae Bank and FDIC v Navient Solutions Inc. (formerly known as Sallie Mae, Inc.). These are the results of the FDIC's investigation into Sallie Mae's alleged violations of the Servicemenbers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Electronic Fund . . .
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“Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act” in Plain English
Yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation aimed to help level the playing field for student loan borrowers. The main goal is to lower interest rates on ALL student loans (Fed and Private) to a fixed amount for the duration of the loan term. The theory being that if interest . . .
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What Happens to your Student Loans when you file Bankruptcy
If you've read anything on the internet about student loans, you know bankruptcy probably can't help you. Discharging student loan debt through bankruptcy is not impossible, but it is difficult, for two reasons:
1) The test is draconian with no objective standard, and
2) It is often cost . . .
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Does the Government Shutdown affect Student Loan Collections?
VinothChandar / Foter / CC BYNow that the government is shut down, there is a great concern about how this affects collections of student loans, default or not. We first need to clarify that the shutdown only affects government agencies. Guarantee agencies like ECMC, Great Lakes, etc. are not . . .
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Sallie Mae in the News…Again!
I was trying to find a witting opening, but all I could come up with for a reference was Mustang Sally. It's not on target, but some of the lyrics could be made relevant, "All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride."
What's that? Sallie Mae is riding around? Well yes, if we . . .
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What Happens To A Student Loan When You Die?
As in marriage, student loan debt is a matter of "until death do you part."
If you've got student loan debt, there are lots of options to keep yourself out of default. For some, the debt can be repaid in full before they get to the grave.
Unfortunately, as student loan debt climbs to . . .
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