Existing Student Loans & Chapter 7

[jaina]

I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on 11/17/07. I've been paying on all my student loans up until this month. This morning I go to pay and on 2 of them... for some reason have been temporarily suspended and it says that I don't have to pay anything until as early as 4/21/08? They're Federal Stafford Student Loans. Is this normal? My other "private" student loans through Sallie Mae have not changed. The due date is the same. Should I be concerned?

[nazstar]

I would call the 1-800 number and find out. It might be related to the filing or it may not. I recently realized I hadn't seen a bill on my student loans for over a month and I called. It turns out that I accidently overpaid last month - big time. I sent in a late payment, which got crossed in the mail with the new bill and we paid that one as it was listed (don't ask me what I was thinking). Anyways, since I didn't check off that little box at the bottom, they applied it to the next 4 payments and I don't have another due until March 2008.

At least this way you have a definite answer from them. I am a little paranoid about my student loans because 1) they won't be discharged and have always been more or less current so it's a good history on my credit report and 2) I want to go back to school at some point and will need student loans again.

[HHM]

When you file BK, typically, student loans go into deferment of some kind.

But go ahead and call and find out what they want you to do.

[genseeker]

We filed 9/5 and deferment because of BK started 9/28. Deferment ends 12/28 and next payment due on 1/28/08. Ours was a BK7. All federal go into deferment during the BK7, not sure about BK13. But interest will capitalize at end of deferment and that can add up. You can pay on it during deferment, I had to mail in payments because it wouldn't let me do an auto debit from my bank account.