I know the Borrower Defense to Repayment Program has undergone so many changes, and been impacted by political and practical concerns that sometimes none of us knew which way was up, however, the recent Sweet settlement gives hope! And some much needed finality. (Remember the settlement is not yet final…
Whoo Hoo! In a class action Sweet v. Cardona, the parties, including the Department of Education, have just announced a settlement of Borrower Defense to Repayment claims (“BDTR”). It’s still early, and we don’t yet know if this settlement will be approved by the Court or if some of the…
A close friend’s husband was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia several years ago. Little did we know at the time that it was quite likely due to his early childhood spent at Camp LeJeune. I learned that his mother used to mix his baby formula with water which…
If you have significant debt but have been told that you cannot file a Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy, now you can file bankruptcy and not risk dismissal by the U.S. Trustees office. This change occurred because the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act was signed into law yesterday. Prior…
On Friday, the Senate passed a bill that would provide relief to thousands who have been trapped in a long battle with the Department of Education after a married couple had the misfortune of consolidating their loans. While at first blush that may have seemed like a good idea, the…
This week, the parties in Sweet v. Cardona filed a motion with the court that they had reached a settlement in principle to resolve the case. As a quick refresher, this case challenged 1) the Department’s failure to issue timely adjudications on borrower defense claims and 2) the Department’s blanket denials…
A mortgage servicer called a “furnisher” for purposes of credit reporting is responsible for updates to a borrower’s credit report. Many times following a foreclosure, there is a limited time for the lender to seek a deficiency judgment. Here is Florida it is one year. If a year goes by,…
I’m happy to say that we are starting to see Navient refund checks coming in! A client today received a check for $13,795 which represents payments he had made on a Navient private student loan after June 30, 2021. The remaining balance on these loans were forgiven per the Navient…
We’ve made the difficult decision to not take any further clients who have requested assistance in filing Borrower Defense to Repayment applications. Importantly, it is NOT because the program itself won’t result in possible full forgiveness, we still expect that for many borrowers, but it is taking a longgg time. …
Life Isn’t Meant to be Lived Paycheck to Paycheck I know there’s been lots of press about the 8.5% inflation rate that was announced this week. I also know that many people don’t believe that number. Why not? Well, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has been consistently modifying their…