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Bankruptcy and Financial Aid
This page answers common questions about the relationship between bankruptcy and financial aid, such as student loans. The first answer concerns the impact of bankruptcy on eligibility for student loans. The second answer discusses whether student loans can be discharged through bankruptcy. Thanks to Pat Somers of the Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock and Art Bilski of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for their assistance with this section. Bankruptcy and Eligibility for Financial Aid Will a bankruptcy affect a student's future eligibility for student loans and other financial aid? The answer to this question is a complex one because several issues are involved. It depends on the nature of the student loan programs (federal or private) and the type of bankruptcy. Whatever the circumstances behind the bankruptcy, the student should talk with the financial aid administrator at the school he plans to attend, and explain the situation. The financial aid administrator may be able to guide the student to certain loan programs or lenders that may fit his needs. Federal Loans Generally speaking, a bankruptcy should have no impact on eligibility for federal student aid. A few years ago students who had their federal student loans discharged through bankruptcy were required to reaffirm the debt in order to be eligible for further federal student aid. But the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-394, enacted October 22, 1994) amended the FFELP regulations dealing with loans discharged in bankruptcy. As a result of those changes, a borrower who had FFELP loans previously discharged in bankruptcy is no longer required to reaffirm those loans prior to receiving additional federal student aid. Title IV grant or loan aid (including the Perkins loan program) may not be denied to a student who has filed bankruptcy solely on the basis of the bankruptcy determination. Financial aid administrators are precluded from citing bankruptcy as evidence of an unwillingness to repay student loans. Schools may nevertheless continue to consider the student's post-bankruptcy credit history in determining willingness to repay the loan. As long as there are no delinquencies or defaults on student loans currently in repayment, the student should be eligible for additional federal student loans, regardless of any past bankruptcies. However, if some of the student's federal student loans are in default and were not included in a bankruptcy, the student will not be able to get further federal student aid until he resolves the problem. Students with loans in default should contact the lender (or servicer or current holder of the loan) to set up a satisfactory repayment plan in order to regain eligibility for federal student aid. (If the loan was discharged in bankruptcy after the borrower defaulted on the loan, it is no longer considered to be in default.) Parents who apply for a PLUS loan (or graduate students applying for a Grad PLUS loan) may be denied a PLUS loan if they have an adverse credit history. The definition of an adverse credit history includes having had debts discharged in bankruptcy within the past five years. If this is the case, the parents may still be eligible for a PLUS loan if they secure an endorser without an adverse credit history. If the parents are turned down for a PLUS loan because of an adverse credit history, the student may be eligible for an increased unsubsidized Stafford loan. The anti-discrimination rules appear in 11 USC 525(c):
Private Loans Private loans are an entirely different matter. Because of the many different types of bankruptcies, this is a very complex issue. The student should contact the financial aid administrator at his school for advice on the impact of a bankruptcy on eligibility for private loans. The student should also talk to the lender and provide evidence that he is a good risk, and be prepared to explain the circumstances behind the bankruptcy. The lender may be more willing to issue a loan if the borrower offers to secure the loan. If the student is still having problems, he may want to consult the attorney who handled the bankruptcy. Most bankruptcies will have an impact on eligibility for private loan programs, including some school loan programs. Many private loan programs have credit criteria that preclude people with a bankruptcy within the past 7 or 10 years from borrowing without a creditworthy cosigner. There are, however, exceptions if the bankruptcy was initiated for reasons beyond the borrower's control, such as extraordinary medical costs, natural disasters, or other extenuating circumstances. If a parent went through bankruptcy, it should have absolutely no impact on their children's eligibility for private loans, unless the parent is required to cosign the loans. If the bankruptcy filing included a payout plan, even if not 100%, the student will be at an advantage in applying for private loans. Bankruptcy filers with a payout plan, especially a 100% payout plan, are a better risk than most people who have gone through bankruptcy. On the other hand, if the borrower went the Chapter 7 route, he may have more difficulty in getting a private loan. Lenders tend to look less favorably on complete liquidations. Thus borrowers who filed for a Chapter 11 (or Chapter 13) and had a payout plan will be more likely to get a private loan than borrowers who filed a Chapter 7. Lenders also look at whether the borrower is able to refile for bankruptcy. Chapter 11 filers cannot immediately refile again for bankruptcy. Although any lender should know this, they may need to be reminded. Chapter 7 files are prohibited from refiling a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for 6 years. However, Chapter 13 plans have no such restriction, so a debtor can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, have their debts discharged, and then file a Chapter 13 within a very short time if new debt is incurred. A debtor can file an unlimited number of Chapter 13 bankruptcies. On the other hand, Chapter 13 filers are prohibited from filing a Chapter 7 immediately. Nevertheless, lenders tend to be wary of Chapter 13 bankruptcies because a high percentage of them are converted to Chapter 7 cases or are dismissed because the debtor is unable or unwilling to continue with the payment plan established under the Chapter 13 repayment plan.
Discharging Student Loans Through Bankruptcy
Can educational loans, such as the Federal Stafford, Federal
PLUS, and private loans, be discharged through bankruptcy?
Section 523(a)(8) of the US Bankruptcy Code, at 11 U.S.C., excepts
from discharge debts for "an educational benefit overpayment or loan
made, insured, or guaranteed by a governmental unit, or made under any
program funded in whole or in part by a governmental unit or nonprofit
institution; or an obligation to repay funds received as an
educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend; or any other educational
loan that is a qualified education loan, as defined in section
221(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, incurred by a debtor
who is an individual" unless "excepting such debt from discharge under
this paragraph would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the
debtor's dependents".
For the purpose of this paragraph, the definition of of a qualifying
education loan includes loans made solely to pay the higher education
expenses of an eligible student, where the student is either the
debtor, the spouse of the debtor, or the dependent of the
debtor. In addition, the loans must be for study at a school that is
eligible to participate in Title IV programs and where the student is
enrolled at least half time.
Loans that don't meet this definition, such as credit card
debt, are still dischargeable even if they were used to pay for higher
education expenses.
Thus FFELP and FDSLP loans, and education loans funded or guaranteed by private
nonprofit organizations, are automatically nondischargeable in a
bankruptcy proceeding. The only cases in which they can be discharged
through bankruptcy are:
Section 220 of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and
Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), P.L. 109-8, extended similar
protections to "qualified education loans" starting on October 17,
2005, even when they are not
funded or guaranteed by a nonprofit organization.
Qualified education loans is defined to include any debt incurred by
the taxpayer solely for the purpose of paying for qualified higher
education expenses of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or any
dependent of the taxpayer. (Dependency is determined as of the time
the taxpayer took out the loan.)
Interestingly enough, most private student loan programs seem to have
some sort of nonprofit involvement.
BAPCPA also made it more difficult to file under Chapter 7. If the
borrower's income is above the median income in his/her state or is
sufficient to repay 25% or more of his/her debt, the borrower will be
forced to file under Chapter 13, which requires repayment over three
to five years. BAPCPA also
mandates credit counseling before a borrower can file for bankruptcy.
FinAid analyzed FICO score distributions before and after BAPCPA
showing no appreciable increase in availability of private student
loans. Some of this might be explained by the lenders believing that
their loans were excepted even prior to BAPCPA. If so, why did the
lenders push the BAPCPA changes based on arguments that it would
increase the availability of private student loans?
It is worth noting that the extension of the bankruptcy exception to
qualified education loans in 11 USC 523(a)(8)(B) cross-references IRC
section 221(d)(1) for the definition of a qualified education loan.
This section of the Internal Revenue Code requires the loan to be used
"solely to pay qualified higher education expenses". IRC section
221(d)(2) defines qualified higher education expenses as:
More details and other limitations on the exception to discharge can be found in Limitations on Exception to Discharge of Private Student Loans. Most court cases cite Brunner v. New York State Higher Education Services Corp. (October 14, 1987, #41, Docket 87-5013) for a definition of "undue hardship". Brunner v. NY HESC (In re Brunner), 831 F.2d 395 (2d Cir. 1987), aff'g 46 B.R. 752 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1985). That decision adopted the following three-part standard for undue hardship:
The first element of the standard usually involves the lowest monthly payment available to the borrower, namely the monthly loan payment under Income Contingent Repayment, as opposed to standard ten-year repayment. (With the introduction of Income Based Repayment on July 1, 2009, it is expected that the courts will switch to this repayment plan as it usually yields a lower monthly payment and meshes well with the 150% of poverty line threshold for a bankruptcy fee waiver.) Note that if the borrower has multiple student loans and could afford to repay some but not all of them, the court will generally discharge only those loans that exceed the borrower's ability to repay. It is also possible that a court will discharge part of a loan instead of the entire loan. The poverty line is often (but not always) used as a threshold for a minimal standard of living, since it is defined as the income level at which the family has no discretion concerning how to use the income. However, the courts will generally examine all of the debtor's expenses to ensure that they are minimal and necessary. The existence of discretionary expenses may derail an undue hardship petition, as borrowers are expected to make sacrifices to repay their debts. The second element of the standard requires the debtor to provide evidence of additional exceptional circumstances that are strongly suggestive of a continuing insurmountable inability to repay, such as being disabled or having a disabled dependent. A serious physical or mental illness might also qualify. An inability to work in one's chosen profession does not necessarily preclude being able to work in another field. There must be a "certainty of hopelessness", meaning that there is no chance of any future improvement in the borrower's financial situation. The third element of the standard requires the borrower to have demonstrated a good faith effort to repay the loans. Filing for a bankruptcy discharge immediately after graduation is generally not considered a good faith effort to repay the loans. However, there might be extenuating circumstances, such as the debtor suffering brain damage in a car accident shortly after graduation. The court will consider the totality of the circumstances. The court will consider whether the debtor made payments on the loans when he or she had some income available and obtained a deferment or forbearance when his or her income was insufficient. The court will also consider whether the debtor took advantage of various alternatives to bankruptcy, such as the extended repayment, income-contingent repayment and income-based repayment plans, and whether the debtor tried to increase available financial resources, such as seeking a better job and reducing expenses. Other standards besides Brunner v NY HESC that are sometimes cited by courts include:
A debtor could have a zero payment under the income-contingent or income-based repayment plans if the debtor's discretionary income is zero. Of the more than 600,000 borrowers repaying their federal education loans using the income-contingent repayment plan, more than 285,000 (45%) have a zero payment. This does not prevent an undue hardship discharge for federal education loans if the debtor is unable to maintain a minimal standard of living even with a zero payment and the situation is likely to persist for most of the life of the loans. But most often an undue hardship discharge is applied to private student loans which don't offer such generous repayment plans. Even if a loan doesn't come under the non-discharge provision for student loans under the Bankruptcy Code, the debtor's petition would still be reviewed and could be denied on various other grounds, such as abuse of the bankruptcy laws. 34 CFR 685.212 describes the conditions for discharge of a loan obligation under the federal direct loan program, and includes the following statement on bankruptcy: (c) Bankruptcy. If a borrower's obligation to repay a loan is discharged in bankruptcy, the Secretary does not require the borrower or any endorser to make any further payments on the loan. Page 2-32 of the Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook states: A student with an SFA loan discharged in bankruptcy is eligible for SFA grants, work-study, and loans. Prior to October 22, 1994, a student whose defaulted loan was discharged in bankruptcy could not receive loan funds unless the student reaffirmed the discharged debt and made satisfactory repayment arrangements. Because of legislative changes made by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994, the reaffirmation requirement was lifted. Students no longer must reaffirm discharged loans before receiving new loans. In addition, if a student has a loan stayed in bankruptcy, he or she remains eligible for SFA funds as long as he or she has no loans in default (including the stayed loan) and as long as all other eligibility requirements are met. Regardless of whether the education loan is dischargeable, the debtor should consider objecting to the claim of the holder of the loan in a Chapter 13 proceeding. This requires the creditor to provide an accounting of the amount owed and any additional charges and fees that were applied to the loan balance. Often lender records are in a state of disarray (especially if the loan has been sold) and it will be unclear how much is actually owed. The burden of proof is on the lender, not the debtor (although it is helpful if the debtor has cancelled checks and other records of payments made). The judge will then decide the amount that is properly owed. Low Odds of a Successful Undue Hardship Discharge Borrowers are extremely unlikely to successfully obtain an undue hardship discharge in part because Congress never defined what it meant by an undue hardship, leading to arbitrary and capricious bankruptcy court decisions. For example, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on November 29, 2009 that Educational Credit Management Corporation (a guarantee agency with expertise in servicing federal education loans of borrowers who are filing for bankruptcy) held the federal student loans for roughly 72,000 borrowers in bankruptcy in 2008, but that only 276 (0.4%) sought a bankruptcy discharge for the student loans. Most bankruptcy attorneys won't even try to get federal student loans discharged. Of the 134 cases that have been resolved, only 29 (22%) had all or part of their student loans discharged. Success rates might be somewhat higher for private student loans since private student loans don't offer nearly as many consumer protections or options for repayment relief as federal loans. For example, private student loans do not generally provide borrowers with income-based or income-contingent repayment or with a disability discharge, and forbearances are more limited. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that less than 1% of private student loan borrowers in bankruptcy seek an undue hardship discharge and that less than half of them are successful in obtaining a full or partial discharge. Attempts to Repeal the Exception to Discharge Several members of Congress have attempted unsuccessfully to ease the restrictions on bankruptcy discharge of private student loans.
Bankruptcy Discharge of Unpaid Tuition Bills Can unpaid tuition bills and other unpaid college charges be discharged in bankruptcy? Generally, so long as the family did not sign a promissory note with the college, unpaid tuition bills and other college bills can be discharged in bankruptcy. Whether unpaid tuition bills are excepted from discharge depends on whether they are considered an education loan or a contractual obligation. Education loans are excepted from discharge under section 11 USC 523(a)(8) of the US Bankruptcy Code. Contractual obligations are not. An unpaid tuition bill will be considered an education loan if they are evidenced by a promissory note. A promissory note is an agreement, executed before or at the same time as the transaction, that provides for a definite sum to be repaid by the borrower by a specified date according to a specified schedule, with a specified amount of interest. When there is no promissory note, bankruptcy courts have held that no loan exists. So whether unpaid tuition bills are considered an education loan will therefore depend on a review of all documents signed in connection with the unpaid tuition bills. The most important relevant precedents include In re Kevin Renshaw and In re David Regner, 222 F3d 82 (US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2000) and In Re: Sandra Ann Chambers, 348 F3d 650 (US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 2003), where the court held that unpaid tuition bills were not an education loan and hence could be discharged. On the other hand, the court held in the case In re Johnson 218 BR 449,455 (8th Cir. BAP 1998) that the plaintiff had executed a promissory note and so the debt was not dischargeable. It is not entirely clear whether a tuition installment plan would be considered an education loan for the purpose of bankruptcy discharge. In most cases the college arranges with a third party to process the billing and payments. The family's contract with the payment processor has many elements of a promissory note. Yet most of these companies specifically state that the tuition installment plan is not a loan and does not charge interest and just charge an up front nonrefundable fee and many offer loans as an alternative. Note that while a college may withhold official academic transcripts for nonpayment of college bills, as soon as the student files for bankruptcy the college may no longer withhold transcripts during the pendency of the case because of the automatic stay provision of the bankruptcy code. Likewise, the college may not refuse to provide an official academic transcript after the debt is discharged because of the discharge injunction. Types of Bankruptcies This section provides a short glossary of the different types of bankruptcies. As noted above, bankruptcy does not relieve you of the obligation of repaying your student loans. It also does not affect child support and alimony payments, and income tax obligations.
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