Episode 51 - Student Loan Debt with Kelly Petry

In this week's episode, we interview attorney Kelly Petry.  Kelly and I discuss issues with Student Loans. Kelly and I discuss whether student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy court, how student loans are treated in bankruptcy court, and some things that we can do in bankruptcy court to address the debtor's student loans. In certain circumstances, student loans are dischargeable.  In Tampa, we utilize the Brunner Test to determine whether a student loan can be eliminated by the bankruptcy court.  However, there is a very high standard to discharge a student loan in bankruptcy court. The Brunner factors are: (1) debtor cannot maintain a minimal standard of living if forced to repay the loans, (2) there are additional circumstances that show the debtor's financial condition is going to persist for the foreseeable future, and (3) that the debtor has tried to repay the student loan. While the standard is high, there have been some inroads and Congress is currently trying to determine if they can provide additional assistance to people trying to repay their student loans. To contact Kelly, please call her at 813-873-0713. If you have questions, please email me at [email protected], or www.yesnerlaw.com. Please also share this podcast episode if you found it valuable!