There was a time, many decades ago, when student loan debt could be forgiven — or, at least, it would go unpaid. But in the 1970s, a new law was passed that made student loan debt virtually impossible to discharge. This was in response to a wave of nonpayments. This doesn’t make it any more palatable or fair, but it was done in response to an issue.
However, in its current state, the ability to discharge student debt is so limited that many young professionals that graduate from college enter the workforce with an immense amount of debt that takes years to ultimately pay off. Some people have legitimate reasons to want this debt to be discharged — but since these legitimate reasons don’t quite meet the “extreme” threshold that is now used for discharging student debt, these young professionals remain buried under that mountain of debt.
There are really only two ways to get student debt discharged. The first is to have a serious health issue, and the second is to establish and prove that the university defrauded you. Besides these two factors, there are no viable options to discharging your student loan debt.
Now, a bankruptcy can still help you with your student debt by discharging other forms of debt, thus freeing up some of your finances to go towards paying down your college debt. However, filing for bankruptcy will not clear your student debt unless you meet one of the extreme conditions mentioned above. If you have questions about this, please consult with the attorneys at McBride Law Firm.