February is a great time for nourishing your relationships and growing your financial emotions. As overwhelming of a conversation this may be, it’s important to have an open and honest discussion with your significant other about student loan debt, as well as with any other debt you may have.
Financial Check Up - Student Loan Edition
Student Loans and Bankruptcy
You may have heard that student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, but……
In order to potentially have your federal student loans discharged as a result of bankruptcy you have to file a separate action, called an adversary proceeding. When you file the adversary proceeding you are asking to have the court determine that repaying your student loans will cause you undue hardship.
Student Loan Discharge - Total and Permanent Disability
Did you know that federal student loans can be discharged if you have a total and permanent disability? Loans that are eligible for this discharge include Direct Loans, FFEL Loans, and Perkins Loans.
So how do you go about this discharge process? In order to have your federal student loans discharged you will need to complete and submit a TPD (Total and Permanent Disability) application with documentation (from the VA, Social Security Administration or a physician) proving that you’re considered totally and permanently disabled. This application can be submitted Nelnet as they are the loan servicer that processes TPD discharges. If you apply for TPD and are approved for it you should know that there can be a post-discharge monitoring period during which you will need to meet certain requirements or your loans will be reinstated. In some cases the discharged balance of your student loan may be considered income for both state and federal tax purposes