Due to having cancer twice I cannot get life insurance. I am the father of three children under the age of five. With my student loan in excess of 0,000, any money that I would be able to save for my children instead goes to paying off my monthly student loans. I have taken all the forbearances I can and cannot consolidate to any lower monthly payments. I filed for bankruptcy in 1999 after my second bout with cancer as I was unable to work during my treatments and was told student loans could no be filed under bankruptcy.

If there are any grants, organizations or philanthropists that could help a two time cancer survivor pay off his student loan, I would then be able to start saving for my children’s future since I am unable to get a life insurance policy due to my cancer history. I would be eternally thankful for any resources that I can work with to help me with this hardship. Thank you.

i was woundering when i file for bankruptcy. how that will effect my student loans. that are not covered under chapter 13. which is what i want. think that is stressing me out is if the bank will pull my loans out if thay find out about my bankruptcy. i just started school 1 week into school. im not looking to skip out on my gov student loans. im just looking to fix problems in my past without destoring my future

I have two student loans out and was considering filing for bankruptcy to try and consolidate both loans into just one low cost loan. In any case…What is the best choice if claiming bankruptcy was an option that I am willing to endure. Also in filing bankruptcy if even at all I can, what would be the best cost efficient (cheapest) way to go about doing so when taking legal action and lawyers if needed?

I graduated Pharmacy School Summa cum laude in 1991.All of my experience had been in retail pharmacy. Married a complete loser in 1994 and went on a path of self destruction. Charged with 3rd&4th degree cds felonies in 1994 and completed all sentencing early in Feb of 1997. I voluntarily gave up my pharmacy liscense in NJ at the time of arrest. Had to claim bankruptcy at that time, credit cards, car payment etc, didn’t cover student loans. I am in default on loans and I am trying to work out something w/them now.Have been told I have to wait 10 years to get record expunged. I had my son in 1996 and have devoted all of my life to him. Have been trying to get a worthwhile job for quite some time but, haven’t been very successful. Finding my self in a situation where I may have to move out on my own and support my son and I need some advice on how to present myself to potential employers, on resumes, on interviews and any advice as to what kind of job I should try for with my educa.?

As long as background checks out, I’ll be moving in 2 weeks!! HR said they were checking "criminal, sex offender & drivers license" – but the form I signed listed everything under the sun including credit.

- I’m insured & have valid drivers lic. (albeit 3 speeding tix in last 5 yrs)
- clean record (no misdemeanors, felonies, DUI’s, bankruptcies etc)
- no falsification of work/education (albeit maybe off by a month/day)
- zero credit card debt & own my own place……

BUT I’VE SCREWED UP ROYALLY ON STUDENT LOANS – IF THEY WERE TO SEE THIS, WILL THEY SWITCH GEARS & RETRACT THE OFFER?

2ND QUESTION – IF I HAD SOME KIND OF MYSTERY WARRANT OUT ON ME (EX: WHAT IF I SKIPPED JURY DUTY & DIDN’T KNOW? WHAT IF LAW IS AFTER ME FOR UNPAID PARKING TICKETS? WHAT IF THE GOV’T DIDN’T GET MY TAXES THIS YEAR?) – WOULD THIS HAVE SHOWN UP ALREADY ON THE BACKGROUND CHECK I ORDERED ONLINE A COUPLE DAYS AGO?…..OR ARE THESE NOT AS UP TO DATE AS THE "REAL THING"?
(I’m in "default" of student loans….not just late)

No felonies, misdemeanors, bankruptcies, DUI’s, nothing – and I have a current/valid license (except I think I let my insurance lapse, I only drive work vehicles & they’re insured).

If it were between me & other candidates, they would not pick me – because my credit is bad (student loans) – not even sure if they’ll check credit – but would they renig the offer if they discovered this?

Also I accidentally skipped jury duty last year, but I don’t think I got in trouble for it b/c I paid for a background check on myself online & there were no warrants on me…..and a cop let me go for speeding a few weeks ago (after checking my license) – is this a good sign the law is not looking for me due to unpaid parking tickets?

How deep will they dig, and what is the worst case scenario?
I was mistaken – car insurance isn’t lapsed.

And hopefully if I was in trouble for jury duty or parking tickets it would’ve shown up on the online background check I did this week…?

BUT STUDENT LOANS ARE A BIG DEAL…..IF THEY FIND THESE AS 2 HARD INQUIRIES ON MY CREDIT (IN THE EVENT THEY CHECK THIS) AM I SCREWED!?

My husband and I just came out from under a 4 yr long charter 13. We were so relieved to get out from under this dept that has been a huge burden on our family. Last week I was contacted by ECMC my old student loan collection agency. It was a treatening letter stating that I owed them over 10 thousand dollars. I called them and explained that there must be a mistake because although I realize student loans are not discharged by bankruptcy this was not the case. Our lawyer before doing the chapter 13 settled with all the creditors. ECMC was one of them and they agreed on us paying half this account. Our lawyer assured us that we would be dept free after the four years. During the 4 years we paid ECMC over 10,500.
ECMC over the phone explained to us that our lawyer never had an agreement with them and that they don’t reduce loans.
We talked back with our lawyer office to see if this problem could be resolved. We were called back about 4 hours later by the law office with the clerk there telling us, she was so sorry. She have no idea why the lawyer set up the Chapter 13 for half the loan. She apologize but there is nothing they can do. We owe the dept. And the lawyer that set it up is no longer with their office. He is now assistant D.A.
Our hearts are broken because we just knew we would be dept free after all this suffering. Is it true that the lawyer office can just say "ooh oh my bad nothing we can do about this" and send us on our way. What legal rights do we have as it was explained to us before we went into this Chapter 13 deal that all creditors must agree on the deal before we went to court. Now everything is null and void.
Actually Ryan, he did. He told us that they had settled on the amount of 10,000.
The pricipal loan was for 5,000. It had grown into a monster of 18,000. Before we went to court the lawyer said the creditors had all agreed. Now we are being told something else.
Over the 4 years while in Chapter 13 we paid ECMC 10,500. Now they are demanding 10,000 more. I guess they went up because of interest.
No the lawyer didn’t give us anything from any of the creditors. All we would get quarterly was a letter showing what was being sent to each creditor. Had no reason to believe what they said wasn’t being done.
The office did tell my husband that placing half a debt on a Chapter 13 is NOT normal procedure and that they were sorry.

Discharged from bankruptcy 8 months ago. For debt now I have student loans and 0 on one credit card. My credit score is low around 590-620. How much should I expect if any to get for a car loan? How much money down will I need? what will my loan finance rate be? What companies are the best to get a bad credit car loan? Any good online companies to use or just go to a dealer that specializes in bad credit loans? My income is around 00 a month before taxes and benefits etc.

I files Chapter 13 right before the new bankruptcy laws passed in 2005. I knew that my student loans would not be discharged. My lawyer put them all in forbearance. I finished my ch 13 a month ago and have begin to consolidate them.

Last week I received a collections notice in the mail for a 17,000 bill. I was not aware that I even had private loans thru sallie mae, but apparently I do. These are already in collections.

Can these be consolidated also? Private loans are not discharable? I have called sallie mae and have been transferred 8 times……8! After they gave me a new number to call I decided to cool my jets before I call back.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have no idea what to do.

I just lost both of my cars that I was paying a total of 1/mo. on. My wife is going to be quitting her job because of childcare issues, tension levels in the family, and all the stress that’s been building up from playing "tagteam" with watching the kids over the past 2 months. I get at least 15 calls a day from credit card companies asking where their money is. I incorrectly filed my taxes in 2005 (filed a Schedule K-1 online with Liberty Tax, and apparently I was missing a Schedule E form), so now I have a tax debt of almost ,000. I will be making just enough money to pay my mortgage, utilities, food, and gas for commuting to and from work (70 miles a day). I am behind on every credit card I have, a Home Depot Consumer Loan, student loans, medical bills, everything. I also live in a suburb of Austin, TX in case anyone was wondering. I don’t know the bankruptcy laws well enough in Texas, and I need major help. Should we file for bakruptcy, and if should which kind of bankruptcy?
I believe most people are thinking that I’m a big spender, but I’m actually more of a tightwad. I don’t buy latte’s at all or have any weekly or daily habits with spending money on food, my wife cannot work due to the fact that everything she makes goes towards paying for childcare, and even still we’re short. I am a general manager of a restaurant, on salary, and I cannot get another job because I have to have open availability. I lived on credit cards and did things like paying my water and electric bills with them, not going out and buying a big screen tv or anything of that sort. Like I said,I am relatively frugal, it’s just childcare mostly that screwed me and now I’m up to my ears in debt because of the decision for my wife to stay at work.

I files Chapter 13 right before the new bankruptcy laws passed in 2005. I knew that my student loans would not be discharged. My lawyer put them all in forbearance. I finished my ch 13 a month ago and have begin to consolidate them.

Last week I received a collections notice in the mail for a 17,000 bill. I was not aware that I even had private loans thru sallie mae, but apparently I do. These are already in collections.

Can these be consolidated also? Private loans are not discharable? I have called sallie mae and have been transferred 8 times……8! After they gave me a new number to call I decided to cool my jets before I call back.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have no idea what to do.

I think I want to file for chapter 13 bankruptcy but I don’t know how. I am having trouble repaying my student loans and my car was just recently repossessed. I was trying to find a credit counselor but I haven’t found one that really deals with student loans. What are the best options and who can I speak with for free about what to do? I don’t want to call a lawyer either.

My fiance and I are getting married in less than 2 months. He was rear ended at a red light (the other person was texting on his phone and traveling 40 mph) and is currently being treated (and we have a lawyer). He’s in so much pain that he’s on oxycodone and is attempting to go to work when the pain is not so bad (since we have a mortgage to pay and all).

I am very afraid that the people that hit us have minimum insurance coverage (k). We’ve been doing medical liens for our doctor visits. We do have medical insurance but they won’t pay anything until we make a try to make a settlement with the person that hit him.

If we sue them, and they declare backrupcy, will we have medical debt collectors coming after us or will that go away with the other person’s bankruptcy? We are paying every cent to try to knock out our student loans at super high interest rates…I have no idea what I would do if we would have to pay the entire cost of his upcoming surgury and treatments.

We are trying to get debt free and live a respectable life. We do not want to get rich from a settlement…simply pay for our losses.

I have around 18,000 worth of bad debt. This does not include my student loans. Should I try to file a chapter 7 or 13? If I do what is the cost involved? I was going to try and settle with the creditors themselves. I have heard that with the economy the way it is creditors are accepting payments of .20 on the dollar. Is this true? If so would I have to pay that in one lump sum or can I pay it over 3 – 5 payments?

I do not have the means to pay 0 per month. My income has dropped dramatically in the past few years and I can barely even pay the bare necessities. I want to get my credit back to where it was 4 years ago, before the layoffs. My score was a 780 4 years ago, now I think its as low as a 490. If I do file bankruptcy what are the chances of having decent credit within 2 – 4 years? I have heard it takes 7 before your credit score begins to rise after a bankruptcy. PLEASE HELP!!
NO ADS PLEASE!!! I am not buying turn debt into wealth program or anything like it!!!! PLEASE!! ADVICE ONLY!!!

I took out a private student loan to accompany my Stafford loans and scholarships for my undergrad. The loan was for ,000 and was co-signed by my parents. I was a freshmen when I took out the loan and am in my last semester now. A year ago, my parents filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and things have gotten weird from there. My Stafford loans were left untouched, but my private loan defaulted (apparently because of the bankruptcy?). I of course freaked out, having not been notified that this would affect me like this, and went to a a credit check website to see what damage this had done to my credit report. Now I am thoroughly confused as to what’s actually going on. My credit report from all three bureaus shows that account to be "paid as agreed," is in good standing, is not delinquent and posts a {content} balance with a {content} scheduled payment. My other loans show their appropriate balances and scheduled payments. That loan is also listed as a closed account and is not listed in my total debt on my credit summary, but my other loans are correct to the cent. The extra notes from all three bureaus state that a claim was filed with the government for the insured portion of my loan balance and that the loan was sent to recovery. But again, the account is listed as "closed." It also lists that the loan was sold in the same month that my parents filed for the bankruptcy. Could that be affecting things? I have not been notified of anything and wouldn’t even know what was happening at all had I not gone digging. I have tried calling the loan company twice to inquire about this matter and have received no response. The loan company has not sent me anything to collect on that loan even though I should start repayment soon (I start repayment on my Stafford loans next month). What is going on here? I know that student loans are not covered under bankruptcy protection, but why is the account listed as closed and with a {content} balance? Is this going to come back to haunt me?
In response to the two answers, I have tried on three separate occasions to contact the loan company, First Marblehead. They have ignored my calls and inquiries, not bothering to get back to me. I have printed off my call log from AT&T as proof in case they try to deny it. I don’t want to get screwed over here.

Also, upon looking more in depth at my Experian report, I saw that this part of my credit history (the loan) is set to be removed in 2015, seven years from when the bankruptcy was filed. What is that about? If my loan was up for the standard repayment period of 10 years, then it wouldn’t be finished or removed until at least 2019. Any thoughts?
Also, though I am not listed on the bankruptcy, I was a dependent when my parents filed and am currently still a dependent. And at the time the loan was taken out, I could not even get a loan without a co-signer. I am beginning to wonder if they were put on the top line by the bank even though the loan was taken out for me.

I can’t help but feel sorry for people who are going into debt for a fake education. The job market is horrible, and you can’t file for bankruptcy on student loans…not to mention half the degrees are for jobs that don’t even exist.

I live in SW Florida where I owe 5,000 for a house surrounded by homes forecloure specialists are enjoying profits from selling at 5,000 (in much better condition than mine), and at least another thousand brand new unoccupied homes nearby. Flood insurance just became mandatory and rates went up.
I bought in ‘06, it was the best I could get then, but in very poor shape compared to the quality of currently available homes. It would take another ,000 just to make it marketable to sell for 5,000.
In ‘06 I had to have two loans on teacher pay, did not have enough reserves for a down payment, assumed value would continue escalating and would refinance/consolidate both loans, with increased equity in a few years, and live here another ten years, retire and go home and live in Texas in a modest, low cost home, for the rest of my life.
Disaster struck.
I modified loan 1 (SAXON) under HAMP – that one payment is 31% of my gross income – one of my 2 "take home" paychecks a month.
I modified Loan 2 (,000 balance) directly with OCWEN, who only gave me a reduced rate (14% TO 2%) for 5 years.
My entire 2nd paycheck is that payment, utilities, food, clothes, car, gas, credit cards, student loans, and other living expenses.
I live hand to mouth and see now that I will never be able to retire/sell this house/move home, etc.
I didn’t want to get rich, but I didn’t expect to pay every dime I make for the rest of my life for basic living because of what I perceive as a national financial disaster – obviously not just a "natural real estate cycle" – evolving from poor economic planning and oversight on the part of the politicians who have been paid by my taxes from my hard work for the last 35 years to assure my (at least basic) quality of life – for life.
Ethics?
It is hard to specify ethical boundaries under such extreme, outlying conditions.
I do know one thing about this crisis:
Ethcial boundaries were crossed at every stage, by many people, over many years.
The argument for the end consumer to suffer – in such an exaggerated way – in order to affirm their ethics – seems profoundly hypocritical.
On the other hand, I am still here, paying my mortgage, even though every other homeowner who purchased a home in this HOA between ‘05 and ‘08 has walked away, so I AM demonstrating ethics.

My question is, "What would you do?"

I wish I could put up a poll and ask every expert what they would do.
Walk away entirely? What then… ? Rent for life…?
Stop paying 2nd lien? What then…? Credit ruined…for how long…? What else….?
Swallow and pay every dime they earn to live a restricted (since ‘06: never go out, no travel, no vacations, no gift giving at holidays, drive old cars, buy used clothes, etc.) life for the next ten or fifteen years, fearing job loss or pay cut daily, only to find out at retirement that I have to walk away from it then, can’t sell it, perhaps have to file bankruptcy, then, and live in government housing for my retirement…?
That seems awfully bleak.
I make too much, they say, to file bankruptcy. hmmm…what would you do?
Thanks for any wisdom you could share.
Synthia

I have two student loans out and was considering filing for bankruptcy to try and consolidate both loans into just one low cost loan. In any case…What is the best choice if claiming bankruptcy was an option that I am willing to endure. Also in filing bankruptcy if even at all I can, what would be the best cost efficient (cheapest) way to go about doing so when taking legal action and lawyers if needed?

I am currently a full time student and we are looking at filing a chapter 13 for other debts outside of my student loans. I am wondering what effect if any this will have on my ability to gain new students loans, just the stafford subsidized and unsubsidized? Also, I paid my lawyer 800 to retain him for this bankruptcy , can I back out and get a refund? I am in washington state if that makes a difference.

In July of 2005, my wife filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In her bankruptcy, she included a private student loan to SLM Corp on the order of 00. I am aware that government backed loans are not discharged in bankruptcy , but from my readings, private loans, such as the Signature Student Loan from the Sallie Mae subsidiary SLM Corporation were dischargeable before the enactment of the new bankruptcy laws in October of 2005. SLM is now attempting to collect on this loan, and is calling 5 times per day, refusing to provide requested documentation, and is in general being an @$$. How do we get SLM Corp to stop trying to collect on this debt? What’s the steps in filing the necessary paperwork with the bankruptcy court? Are there any Denver based attorneys willing to help us with this who read here?

Warning: RANT AHEAD: Read only if you want to hear another sob story about Sallie Mae and their downright abusive treatment of borrowers.

What’s truly rich about this is that my wife is still in school. All the options available to public loans, such as in-school deferment, Income Based Repayment and Income Contingent Repayment, hardship forbearance, unemployment forbearance, and so on which excuses the public student loans from being dischargeable are not available for this private loan. My wife is a full time student, and is living now on student loans while getting her master’s degree, but because of this early bachelors degree loan, she would have to contemplate dropping out of school and trying to find a job in this economy to pay this loan back, if she owed it.

All the lawyer firms locally say that they won’t touch the case because ‘Student Loans are not discharged in bankruptcy’. Yet online, there is site after site stating that non-governmental backed student loans only became non-dischargeable after the new bankruptcy laws of 2005. I’m hoping that I can find an attorney who can help us.

BTW, Sallie Mae? If any of your goons are reading this, perhaps they can take this message back to you. You know that nearly ,000 in student debt that you have that is Federally guaranteed? This summer, we’re consolidating it with the Federal Direct Loan my wife got last year. Say bye to all that interest. And I’m going to recommend this course of action for everyone who has a Federal loan through you.