Hypothetical Situation

[TryingToDigOut]

Now, I know student loans are not forgiven on any type of bankruptcy, except in avery rare circumstance or death.

Please consider this hypothetical.

Jane is married.
Jane has $120,000 in student loan debt (federal and private).
Jane's student loans are currently in deferment.
Jane's degrees are in teaching.
Jane teaches at a private Christian school.
Jane gets paid $18K / year, which includes free tuition for her 2 kids.
Jane's gross monthly income is $1,500, which probably won't increase much each year.
Jane's monthly student loan payment is $1,200 once out of deferment.

Given the current situation remaining somewhat constant, Jane feels she will never be able to pay down or pay off her student loan debt. Her monthly student loan paymeny far exceeds her monthly income. Does Jane have any options with this burden?

Thank you for any suggestions you may offer.

[StaciMM]

My understanding under the old laws were that you pretty much had to be unable to work, and have no hope of being able to work in the future, in order to discharge student loans. (So, some sort of mental or physical disability-something that was not temporary.)

I also understand that rules are more strict now.

[Genenco]

Now, I know student loans are not forgiven on any type of bankruptcy, except in avery rare circumstance or death.

Please consider this hypothetical.

Jane is married.
Jane has $120,000 in student loan debt (federal and private).
Jane's student loans are currently in deferment.
Jane's degrees are in teaching.
Jane teaches at a private Christian school.
Jane gets paid $18K / year, which includes free tuition for her 2 kids.
Jane's gross monthly income is $1,500, which probably won't increase much each year.
Jane's monthly student loan payment is $1,200 once out of deferment.

Given the current situation remaining somewhat constant, Jane feels she will never be able to pay down or pay off her student loan debt. Her monthly student loan paymeny far exceeds her monthly income. Does Jane have any options with this burden?

Thank you for any suggestions you may offer.

[AAAArt]

Since we are only speaking hypothetically here and I don't have to worry about hurting your personal feelings, I will respond.
1. How and why in the world get "Jane" run up $120,000 in student loans getting a teaching degree?
2. "Jane" seems to be making the rest of the students and general public pay for her belief systems as she works at a sub-paying job so that she can get free non-public education for her children.
3. Jane would prob. believe in separation of church/state if the state told her what to believe, but doesn't seem to believe that church doesn't have the power to trump govt.
4. I'm not sure that Jane is setting a good Christian example or just playing "poor struggling Christian mother/victim.
Okay, now that I'm through bashing Jane's theology. let me try to be more understanding.
1. We all have made less than wise decisions. Perhaps that was the case w/ the student loans. No biggie...no one gets through lofe perfectly and there is divine forgiveness and constitutional forgiveness. Not as good as the Year of Jubilee, but at least no debtor's prison and we all are entitled to a fresh start.
2. How you raise your children is your decision. I am just agains school vouchers and everything else that weakens our public school system. I went to a church related school from 9th to 12th grades. Learned about and used alcohol, tobacco and drugs there, but got a really lousy education in the sciences and a very limited outlook on life. When I grad. in 1966, the only jobs that I knew how to qualify for were Minister and School Teacher.
3. I'm sorry, but if Jane chooses to live out her belief system and make less, then I don't understand why my tax dollars and the interest on my cc's and my children's student loans should be affected by her default.
4. Methinks that Jane's God is too small to allow her to believe that she and her children could survive outside of the womb of her particular church and in the public sector.
Having ranted all of that, I might disagree w/ your theology, but certainly think that you have an excellent basis for getting your student loans discharged or at least changed, and I wish you the very best.
I believe that people with strong religious beliefs have the most struggle with Bk. From a Christian perspective, it is particularly difficult when we question WWJD and the writings of Paul about working to support himeself.
I have often wondered, "If my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills...why can't He sell some of them and give me some money" However, it seems like everytime in my life when I have prayed for financial help from God a second and/or third job would be offered to me.
With community Jr. Colleges and State institutions, I don't think any teenager should be allowed to have over $100,000 in student unless pursuing a specialized or advance degree where they stand a good chance of being able to make the payments.
Oh well, I'm an old curmudgeon and if the 2 mistakes that I think that "Jane" has and is making were the worst things I ever did, I prob. wouldn't worry about such things.
Yes, you should defiitely get out from under that onerous debt and I think that you have the right to, but most all of us who have gone through this and hope to come out successfully know that it requires some real soul searching and a very hard objective look at our lives.
In fact, one more question comes to mind. Is Jane really doing her children a favor by staying at a lower paying job so that they can get "better - more Christian" education, but will have to face the same problems that she did with student loans, because there were no savings for college???
Sorry to hear about "Jane" Hope her life gets better. It sounds like she's a very cpmpassionate and caring person.
Art (and that really is me)

[TryingToDigOut]

Art, thanks for the reply. I do agree that $120K of student loan debt is excessive by any measure. Jane went through 3 years of a chemical engineering degree. During that time, someone broke into her sisters apartment and they beat her severly, which caused her to have swelling of the brain and ultimately have a bad stroke. She is now paralyzed on her whole left side. After that happened, Jane quit college to be with and help her sister who was now disabled. Jane decided to go back to college, but she decided engineering wasn't for her anymore. She enrolled in the college of education. Just before finishing her bachelors in education, her father died of stomach cancer. She stopped going to college again because she couldn't focus on studies after losing her father. A year later, she went back and finished her bachelors degree and also continued to get her masters in reading education.

Not trying to make excuses here, but there were some events in her life that took her in different directions in her education. Her length of time from starting college to finally finishing was a little over 10 years.

As far as christian schools goes, her main reason for sending her kids is really due to classroom size and ratio of teacher to kids. Jane lives in a very over-crowded school district, not unlike many others these days. In public school, there are 30+ kids in each class. In private school, there are 15 kids per class.

Again, thank you for your input.

[TryingToDigOut]

In fact, one more question comes to mind. Is Jane really doing her children a favor by staying at a lower paying job so that they can get "better - more Christian" education, but will have to face the same problems that she did with student loans, because there were no savings for college???
Sorry to hear about "Jane" Hope her life gets better. It sounds like she's a very cpmpassionate and caring person.
Art (and that really is me)

Jane has the children enrolled in the FL prepaid college program. Their tuition will be covered at most any public university when they are of age to attend.