Student Debt Options

Bankruptcy cases do not often include student debt because of the extra filings needed and the rate at which they are discharged. According to Tara Siegel Bernard for the New York Times, a new, more streamlined process for bankruptcy is making it easier to claim student debt and actually have it forgiven. Many jurisdictions utilize the Brunner test for those claiming student debt and the new approach to filing makes it easier to pass that test:

Can you currently maintain the loans and maintain a minimal standard of living?
Is your situation likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period?
Have you made a good faith effort to repay the loans?

By satisfying this test, borrower’s cases may be reviewed by the Justice Department and recommendations of discharge made to a bankruptcy judge.

Student Loans May Affect Homeownership

Rising tuition costs and student debt are becoming significant factors in the ability of millennials to buy houses. An analysis published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last year suggests that student debt was responsible for up to 35 percent of the decline in homeownership among people between the ages of 28 and 30 from 2007 to 2015. (Homeownership for people under 28 tends to be low.). With many young adults leaving college with large bills, even landing good jobs isn’t enough to pay their debt in a timely manner.

How Student Debt Can Ruin Home Buying Dreams

Economists Study Current Wealth

In a new study this month, economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis examined whether Americans are now wealthier or poorer than previous generations were at their age.

What they found may surprise you. People born before 1960 are in a better financial position than their predecessors while those born after 1980 are in a much worse situation. This generation is facing an array of money drains, such as student debt, auto loans, and credit card balances making it almost impossible for them to gain wealth quickly enough to match previous generations.

Eighties Babies Are Officially the Brokest Generation, Federal Reserve Study Concludes