Many people in Ohio may have commonly heard and hold the belief that student loan debt may never be included in a bankruptcy proceeding. Lenders of these loans look to such protection to know that they will be appropriately repaid on their loans. However, some people may pursue options to have these debts forgiven. NerdWallet provides an overview of how this may happen.
Essentially debtors may try to take their lenders to court in what are called adversary proceedings. These are part of bankruptcy proceedings but require additional work and steps. In this process, the debtor must prove a few things. These include that good faith efforts to repay the debt had been made. Examples of these may even be getting a forebearance or a deferrment or making alternate payment arrangements. It is also important for debtors to prove that they are truly unable to make the payments. Part of how they may try to do this is to show that making these payments prevents the debtor from living a reasonable life.
Another option some people may try is to show that extenuating circumstances make it all but impossible for the debt to be repaid. The presence of a debilitating condition that would then preclude the person from earning a reasonable wage may be part of this.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give Ohioans an overview of how some people may attempt to have student loan debt discharged via Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcies.
