Federal student loans are something that touch on many people’s lives here in the United States. Millions of Americans have such loans.
There are a variety of problems that could potentially arise for a person in connection to such loans. For example, circumstances can sometimes come up where a person finds it very difficult to stay current with their federal student loan payments. Falling behind on such payments can be consequence-filled.
Recent statistics indicate that falling behind on federal student loan payments is a relatively common thing these days. The statistics regard the payment status of federal student loan holders who were no longer in school.
According to the statistics, as of Jan. 1, over 40 percent of these borrowers were not currently making payments on their loans. Now, not all of these were people behind on their payments, some were individuals who were currently in a forbearance/deferment period. Individuals with forbearances/deferments made up a little less than a third of the individuals not currently making payments. The rest were individuals at least a month behind on payments (with over half of those individuals being behind by 360 days or more).
One wonders what sorts of things the federal government will do in the near future to try to address the high prevalence of being behind on federal student loans. Given how many people hold federal student loans and how common student loan struggles are, federal policies regarding such loans can have some very wide-ranging impacts.
When a person is having difficulties regarding student loan payments, it is important for them to have a clear and accurate picture of the various options they may have, including bankruptcy.
There are many misconceptions individuals might have about student loans and bankruptcy. Some might assume that student loans are among the debts that can generally be discharged in a bankruptcy. However, bankruptcy-related discharges are generally not available for student loans. Others might assume that, because student loans are typically non-dischargeable, bankruptcy can’t really help with student debt troubles. However, there are certain situations in which bankruptcy can still have benefits for those struggling with student debt.
Misconceptions about bankruptcy or other types of debt relief could lead to a person making missteps when trying to deal with a student loan problem. This is why discussing one’s options with an experienced bankruptcy attorney can be wise when facing student debt troubles.
