Are you struggling with student loan debt? Is this burden becoming too much for you to face alone? Whether it be through a repayment plan, a loan forgiveness program, an administrative discharge, or a bankruptcy discharge, there are solutions out there. An experienced student loan attorney can advise you on the potential solutions based on your individual situation.
Very few attorneys understand the intricacies of student loan law, which makes choosing an experienced student loan lawyer that much more important. As your student loan attorney, it is our job to help you get out from under the burden of your student loan debt and back on track to living your life with confidence.
Top Student Loan Attorney for Customer Service
With the total student debt across this nation surpassing $1.6 trillion, people need the right student loan attorney to advise them. Student loan law is not an area of law that many attorneys practice and there are even fewer attorneys that specialize in it. This is problematic because student loan law is complex and requires extensive knowledge of several possible solutions for different situations. You don’t just need a lawyer – you need a student loan lawyer.
At ARM Lawyers, our student loan lawyers have extensive knowledge in this area of law and are dedicated to helping individuals with student loan debt get the relief they deserve. We will help you understand both your loans and all possible solutions, so that you are confident that you are choosing the right path for you to start a better financial future.
Our student loan attorney doesn’t just claim to be the best – we have the awards to back it up. Our practice is based upon premier customer service which ultimately has resulted in being named a “Top 10 Best Bankruptcy Lawyer in Pennsylvania for Customer Service” by the American Institute of Bankruptcy Attorneys.
Can lawyers help with student loans?
Every student loan borrowers’ situation is different. Additionally, student loan law and all the potential avenues for savings and discharges can be extremely complicated and hard to navigate without an experienced student loan lawyer. There are very few people that have the knowledge necessary to advise you on your student debt. There are even fewer attorneys that practice in this area of law. You don’t just need a lawyer – you need a student loan lawyer.
At ARM Lawyers, our student loan attorneys are in a unique position in that we have the extensive knowledge necessary to handle student loan cases and, if necessary, bankruptcy cases. Our student loan attorney handles student loan bankruptcy/adversarial proceedings in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York and has offices in each of these states.
For more information about the student loan debt process in your state, feel free to click below:
- Pennsylvania student loan lawyer
- Maryland student loan lawyer
- New Jersey student loan lawyer
- New York student loan lawyer
What can a student loan lawyer do?
When you meet with a student loan lawyer, you’ll start by reviewing your entire financial situation. This includes the types of student loans you have, the balances, the payments, and any other relevant facts such as when you went to school, your payment history, and your current employment.
After our student loan attorney reviews your full financial picture, he can make recommendations as to the best course of action. In some cases, that may be as simply as placing you in an income driven repayment plan which would lower your payment. In other cases, we may try to reduce or eliminate your student loans. Your student loan attorney will explain the best options for you.
Yes, it’s entirely possible that a student loan attorney can eliminate the entire student loan in the right circumstance.
Since everyone’s situation is different, a student loan lawyer can explain the best course of action for you. The advice will be tailored to your exact circumstance.
Starting the process with a student loan attorney
Many people do not know much about there student loans other than the fact that the amount is astronomical, and their payments are unreasonable. As such, our student loan attorney begins by explaining your loan to you, so that you can better understand what comes next. To further help our clients along the way we provide free resources to answer your questions and walk your through the process of the potential solutions for your student debt.
We offer our book, “The Essential Student Loan Survival Guide”, for FREE, just by requesting a copy. Written by our student loan lawyers, this guide aims to help you better understand your student debt situation and navigate the potential solutions for said debt including the process for implementing the solutions.
If you would like to discuss your personal situation with a student loan attorney or if you have specific questions regarding something in the book, give us a call and we would be happy to discuss your situation. If you would prefer to email us, just click here for a consultation with a student loan lawyer.
How can I lower my student loan payment?
To answer this question, it is crucial that you understand the type of loan you have. Many people do not know that there are different types of student loans out there, namely federal and private. Federal student loans have an advantage when it comes to lowering monthly payments because there are repayment plans available and other programs to help with monthly payments.
The income-driven repayment plans offered by the federal government allow individuals to base their monthly payments on their income. Another benefit of these federal income-driven repayment plans is that there is the opportunity to discharge the remaining balance on your loan once the required years are met. Our student loan attorneys help individuals determine which repayment plan is right for them, so that their monthly payments are reasonable and affordable and so that they can work towards a discharge.
For private student loans, there are limited options in terms of repayment plans; however, some private lenders may be willing to work with you to lower your payments for a period. We can also advise you on your options in terms of refinancing and/or consolidating your student loans and whether switching your debt from federal to private is the right choice. Our student loan attorney can assist you with these solutions as well.
What should I do if I can’t make my student loan payment?
Defaulting on student loans, whether federal or private, can have huge repercussions on your loans. Once one payment on a federal loan is late for more than 270 days, your loan balance is subject to a 24.5% addition to the balance of the loan and you can default multiple times. On the other hand, some private lenders will consider a loan to be in default immediately after one payment is missed and may have an acceleration clause making the entirety of the loan due upon default.
If you can’t make your payments, our student loan attorney will breakdown your options based on your loan, including rehabilitation, consolidation or refinancing. We can also work with private lenders to make your payments more affordable and potentially change some of the terms of your loan.
Can you discharge student loans?
There are many myths regarding the dischargeability of student loans, especially in bankruptcy. The truth is student debt can be discharged in several ways and there are many programs out there to help with student debt. The problem is there is not a lot of information available to student loan holders and there are very little professionals out there that understand the many options available.
We help individuals with student debt find the best option available to discharge or limit their student debt. Sometimes, we’re able to use “administrative discharge”. Other times, we use bankruptcy. We’ll review these options separately.
Administrative Discharge of Student Loans
Sometimes you don’t even need to file a bankruptcy in order to discharge your student loans. Sometimes, we’re able to discharge the loans administratively. This means that we’re discharging the loans through a program offered by the Department of Education. As a result, these options are typically reserved for federal loans.
Administrative discharge options include:
- Loan Forgiveness Programs: These programs can be a great option for qualifying individuals with student debt. The problem is that you are not automatically enrolled in them and some are not considered programs so there is no enrolling. As such, we can ensure that you are in compliance with the requirements of each program and help you avoid any potential false steps.
- Administrative Discharge Programs: There are several administrative provisions that are relatively unknown to many individuals with student debt. Some of these discharge provisions are easier to meet than others, but it is important to make sure that the procedures and necessary information is included in your application.
- Total and Permanent Disability Discharge: TPD is a type of administrative discharge provision that grants a discharge of student debt based on a disability that prevents an individual from working. Qualifying for this discharge requires a showing of total and permanent disability, not simply that you were hurt and can’t work in the short-term.
Can you discharge student loans in bankruptcy?
A common misconception, amongst both student loan borrowers and attorneys, is that student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. This is absolutely not true. Both federal and private student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy. Although this can be difficult, we have the experience and knowledge to craft arguments that best fit your situation.
There are many types of bankruptcy discharge:
- Undue Hardship: The standard for discharging student loans through bankruptcy is that the debt will impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents. The test used by most courts is known as the Brunner test and this test looks at three factors that are generally very subjective.
- Non-Qualified Educational Loan: The Bankruptcy Code requires private student loans to be “educational loans”, which differ from other types of consumer debts, and be incurred solely for higher education expenses.
- Eligible Student: An additional requirement for a qualified educational loan is that the private student loan borrower is an eligible student during the period of the loan. Some factors of an eligible student include being a US citizen or eligible non-citizen and enrollment in an eligible degree.
- Eligible Institution: The college or university at which a private student loan borrower is enrolled must be an eligible institution. It is important to look for institutions that are unaccredited.
Student debt is a problem for millions of people and many do not believe there are opportunities to get out of this problem. We have extensive knowledge in all of possible discharge options, so that we can seek the best plan for discharging your student debt.
How do you challenge student loans in bankruptcy?
At ARM Lawyers, we have experienced bankruptcy attorneys that have handled thousands of bankruptcy cases in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. With their assistance, you can rest assured the bankruptcy process will be handled correctly and will run smoothly.
With that being said, challenging dischargeability in bankruptcy requires the filing of a separate action under your bankruptcy case called an adversarial proceeding. It is important to note that if you have already filed for bankruptcy, we can open up your bankruptcy to file an adversarial proceeding. Opening a bankruptcy case is a relatively simple and straightforward process.
The adversarial proceeding is similar to a civil action, in that it starts with a complaint and can require a trial if the case proceeds that far. Your type of student loan will be a big factor in how far you can expect the case to proceed.
Contact us for a consultation with a student loan attorney
Student debt is a burden that you no longer need to take on alone. Our attorneys strive to make this process as easy as possible and offer you the advice needed to take back control of your financial future. Contact our law office today to schedule a consultation with a student loan attorney. Call, e-mail us, or reach out to your closest office:
- Stroudsburg Pennsylvania student loan lawyer
- Palmerton Pennsylvania student loan lawyer
- Bethlehem Pennsylvania student loan lawyer
- Elkton Maryland student loan lawyer
- Baltimore Maryland student loan lawyer
- Morristown New Jersey student loan lawyer
- Brooklyn New York student loan lawyer
The best part is that we can start the whole process over the phone or by video conference so you don’t even need to come into the office! We make everything as easy as possible for you from start to finish. Call us today.
