This is a pretty cool map that shows the southeastern U.S. as ground zero for the student loan crisis. Most all of Florida shows this to be a High, Very High or Extremely High debt level according to this map. I’m glad our bankruptcy court for the Middle District of…
If someone were to ask me what could be done legislatively to help student loan borrowers manage or reduce their student loan debt, I’d suggest and have suggested: 1) simplification of the IDR programs- President Trump has included this in the two most recent budget proposals – one plan that…
Student debt is no longer just a young persons’ issue. As of December 2018, approximately 8.4 million Americans aged 50 and older owe $289.5 billion in student loans, approximately 20% of total student loan debt. This represents a 512% increase from the $47.3 billion owed by that cohort in 2004,…
In an effort to ensure debtors receive a “fresh start” and not a “false start”, the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida has implemented a Student Loan Management Program which utilizes a transparent portal to obtain relief from federal and private student loans. The SLMP is an attempt…
On Friday, August 23, 2019 President Trump signed H.R. 2938, the “Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019” or the “HAVEN Act,” into law. HAVEN Act excludes from the calculation of monthly income, for purposes of the Bankruptcy Code’s means test, certain benefits paid by the Department of…
If you happen to have Ocwen as a mortgage servicer (or former servicer), you may have an excellent reason to challenge their books. Check out this quote from an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals case out this week in University of Puerto Rico Retirement System et al v. Ocwen et…
While I don’t generally post our client reviews, there are times where I simply can’t help myself. This one in particular shows the difference between having an advocate on your side versus getting your information from the student loan servicer — who by the way represents the creditor only. They…
I thought I’d take a minute to share common defenses faced by consumer lawyers such as myself — and help arm consumers with just how and what they should say to stop the calls. First, a debt collector will always deny that you ever revoked consent to call. They will…
Who are all these people? People who want to put an end to the student loan crisis. Most are Bankruptcy Judges from the Middle, Southern and Northern Districts. The rest are us committee members who helped to put in place a new Student Loan Modification Program which goes into effect…
How many of us no longer answer our cell phone? With all the caller ID spoofing/disguising nowadays, most people I know don’t answer, opting instead for the caller to leave a voice message. This ensures they want to talk to the caller, and then they call back. The caller may…