Fort Lauderdale Student Loan Lawyer

If you live in Fort Lauderdale or the Southern District of Florida, the bankruptcy court is gearing up to implement a student loan management program within the bankruptcy court. Similar to the mortgage modification program that was wildly popular during the real estate crisis a few years back, this program is aimed to help people that are struggling with student loan debt along with credit card debt, medical bills and are seeking debt relief.

The Fort Lauderdale Student Loan Management Program is NOT a Way to Discharge Your Student Loan Debt

Under current bankruptcy law, it is nearly impossible to get student loans eliminated. We are keeping a close eye on Congress though and will be updating this website if they amend the bankruptcy code to allow the discharge of student loans. We are hopeful that they might given the fact that a congressional bill allowing the elimination of student loans was introduced last year. This year’s congress appears to be more willing to help people with overwhelming student loan debt. Keep checking back for updates!

Student Loan Modification Program in Bankruptcy Court

A similar program has been underway in the Middle District of Florida’s bankruptcy court for a couple of years now. Some of the highlights of the Orlando student loan program are:

• It may be initiated at any time within a bankruptcy case by either the student loan borrower (in bankruptcy, they are called the “debtor”) creditor or the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee by filing “A Notice of Participation in Student Loan Management Program (“SLM” for short).
• You must pay a filing fee to participate and complete a modification application through a document preparation software program.
• Similar to the Mortgage Modification Program, once a Notice has been filed that you are going to participate in the Student Loan Management Program, all parties must abide by the duties and deadlines that are set by the bankruptcy court.
• A mediation is scheduled and afterwards, one of two outcomes must have been reached. Notice must then be filed with the bankruptcy court that either 1) the parties reached an agreement and a Notice of Resolution is filed; or, 2) the parties do not reach resolution and a Notice of No Resolution is filed with the bankruptcy court.
• If an agreement is reached, the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan must be amended to reflect the payments that were agreed to at the student loan mediation. In bankruptcy, student loan providers must be paid out as a class of creditors that is separate from regular unsecured creditors.
• This program is not intended to discharge student loans and the amended Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan may not say that the student loans are discharged without a separate court order from the bankruptcy judge.
• Attorney fees are added for participation in the student loan management program. In Orlando, the bankruptcy court has established a “no look” fee similar to the one in the mortgage modification program and it’s anticipated that the same will happen in Fort Lauderdale bankruptcy student loan program cases.

Will Bankruptcy Law Be Amended to Get Rid of Student Loans?

That is the biggest question out there today. I can tell you that the Bankruptcy Law Firm of Orfelia Mayor is actively monitoring this congressional session for any signs that student loans will be eliminated in future bankruptcy cases. Student loans have become one of the major financial pressure points for today’s families and we are hopeful that student loan relief through bankruptcy will find its way back into the bankruptcy code. Before the 2005 BACPA bankruptcy code amendment, student loans were dischargeable in bankruptcy if certain criteria were met. Student loan creditors apparently had the better lobbyists back in 2005 and they were able to get dramatic changes to the bankruptcy code that prevented the continuing discharge of student loans through bankruptcy. In 2021, things have changed and student loan debt is consuming monthly budgets and keeping young families from buying homes or creating the generational wealth that their parents were able to do.

Fort Lauderdale Student Loan Management Program Software Link

We’ve already signed up to participate in the Fort Lauderdale bankruptcy student loan management program. If you want to take a sneak peak at the student loan management software preparation – click here!

Experienced Fort Lauderdale Bankruptcy Lawyer Near You!

The Bankruptcy Law Firm of Orfelia Mayor is a debt relief agency in Fort Lauderdale. We help people file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. The student loan management program is a new program that we are very excited to share with you! You can also benefit from bankruptcy if you need to stop wage garnishment, stop foreclosure sales, and a bankruptcy can stop car repos too. Your creditors have lawyers on their side – shouldn’t you have a lawyer too?

We happily service clients in: Broward County including Oakland Park, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Miramar, Dania Beach, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Weston, North Lauderdale, Coconut Creek, Parkland, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Sunrise, Tamarac, West Park, Weston. In Palm Beach, we serve clients in Boca Raton, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Lantana, Boynton Beach, and all cities in Palm Beach County.