Years ago, I was strolling along a lakeside hiking trail in a Dallas-area park. As I was walking across a wooden bridge, I looked down to see a ball of wriggling snakes below me. It was a big cluster–about the size of a beachball. I didn’t stick around long enough to determine whether the snakes … Read more
Martha Standish took out student loans when she was in her late 40s to get an undergraduate degree in accounting. Later she took out a Parent Plus Loan to help her daughter with college expenses. Eleven years after graduating, Standish filed an adversary proceeding in a Kansas bankruptcy court seeking to discharge about $30,000 in … Read more
Looking for the right place to pay off loans? Unfortunately, there’s no blinking neon sign for borrowers to “Repay Loans Here.” Instead, borrowers may have to go old school, and make a phone call to meet their new best friend—the student loan servicer. It all starts with contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center to … Read more
Yesterday I wrote about a 15-year-old that took out federal student loans and got a chance to learn all about the Claim of Infancy issue. Apparently, while you need to be 18 to enter a legal contract and 21 to buy and consume alcohol, you only need to have a pulse and breath in the … Read more
If you are thinking about enrolling in a pricey Ivy League graduate program, read a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off.” Reporters Melissa Korn and Andrea Fuller report on a WSJ analysis of student debt owed by people who graduated from prestigious schools … Read more
The U.S. Navy offers service members a proud and venerable tradition, having patrolled the seas since its inception in 1775. Almost 250 years later, the Navy still offers its sailors a remarkable life experience, a chance to serve the country, and a host of benefits that make life somewhat easier for military personnel. One perk … Read more
Almost every day, I see a television ad for an investment firm that targets retirees. “Don’t just retire,” the tv spokesperson says. “Retire well.” Of course, everyone wants to retire well. For most of us, that means retiring with our debts paid and enough income to cover our bills and travel occasionally. But many Americans … Read more
About 40 million student borrowers got some relief last year when the Department of Education allowed student debtors to temporarily skip their loan payments due to the COVID crisis. Even better, DOE did not charge interest on student loans during the forbearance period. But DOE’s relief program ends on September 30, and the feds expect … Read more
In 2018, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos hired Jeff Courtney, a former JP Morgan executive, to do a forensic analysis of the federal student loan program. DeVos suspected the program was generating huge losses. In fact, in November 2018, DeVos said publicly that only one in four student borrowers were paying down both principal and interest … Read more
In an opinion written by United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge Dale Sommers in Kansas Navient was just slapped down a bit. In 2012 I first started talking about the fact not all student loans are protected in bankruptcy. Since then there have been efforts by some, especially attorney Austin Smith to get the courts to … Read more
A good friend in the industry sent this robocall recording in. The message says, “This is an important update for []. Last week, President Biden’s administration canceled nearly $1 billion 72,000 borrowers, to find out what this means for you and to see if you qualify. Call us back today between eight AM and eight … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am a Federal Family Education Loan recipient. I had a 63,000 loan in the nineties and consolidated it. I went into default, and Ascendium Education Group garnished my wages at the public defender’s office for 12 years. I worked there for 14 years. They garnished over $180,000. I recently received a … Read more
Attending community college instead of a four-year public or private university is a choice many students and parents consider because the student can live and eat at home and spend less on tuition. This can translate to taking out smaller student loans and paying them off sooner after graduation. Here’s a closer look at community … Read more
If your student loan payments seem overwhelming, you should know that you’re not alone. Americans are shouldering a growing student debt burden; In fact, US borrowers owe a combined $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, according to the Federal Reserve . For federal student loans, if a borrower fails to make payments on a loan … Read more
President Biden has asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to prepare a memo on the president’s legal authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt. If he did that, the experts tell us, President Biden would forgive all college-loan debt for 36 million people–about 80 percent of all borrowers. Is that a good idea? Sort … Read more