When I sit down and go over debts with a client, I find that at least a third of my clients have massive student loan debts – way more than they could ever get paid based on their current income. It is my job to explain that student loan debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, at least not unless one is seriously ill or disabled. I used to do adversary petitions asking the court to declare student loans dischargeable, but I have given up on that. Over the years the standards have tightened to the point that I view winning one of those as nearly impossible.
So it was with great interest that I read an article this morning in Business Insider about a future law student who just figured out that the kind of student loan debt required to complete law school would be “like walking into my own grave.” The article includes a video which apparently comes from Yahoo. The video makes reference to thousands of law school graduates unemployed and living in their mother’s basement. I haven’t seen it so much with law school graduates, but I have done bankruptcy work for all sorts of other graduates who were unable to find work in their field.
If I am hearing and reading this correctly, the article says to not run up more student loan debt than a sum equal to one third or one half of the income you anticipate from your first job after graduation. For many I would take that to mean that if massive student loan debt is required for a particular program, then that educational program is probably not worth it.
This is for general information purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. I am a debt relief agency helping people to file for relief under the federal bankruptcy code.
