Defining “Undue Hardship” – Bankruptcy Law in Mankato, MN

Mankato, MN Bankruptcy Law with Behm Law Group, Ltd.

Generally speaking, discharging student loans via bankruptcy can difficult endeavor. However, when you’re facing outright bankruptcy—which can be challenging and stressful enough—it can’t hurt to explore all your options. It may surprise some people to learn there is a section of the Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. Sec. 523[a][8]) which addresses student loans specifically. It basically states: “Student loans can be discharged as long as one can show that excepting [excluding] such debt from discharge (debt relief provided through bankruptcy) would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor’s dependents. Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides professional bankruptcy counsel in Mankato, MN in your time of need.

The key term here is “undue hardship,” a term which only government lawmakers could conjure that sounds ridiculously simple.  However, what constitutes “undue hardship” is a very factually intensive inquiry.  In order to establish “undue hardship”, one must review all of the circumstances surrounding someone’s financial situation.  Serious medical conditions, job losses, the likelihood of being able to get higher paying employment and one’s other living expenses and sources of income are only a few factors that need to be considered.  Discharging student loans in bankruptcy can be done and, indeed, has been done in many cases.

One example of a fact substantiating “undue hardship” is to show you’ve incurred a disability since graduating from college that prevents you from being able to realistically carry out the necessary tasks that are part of any job aligned with your college degree. Let’s say you graduated with a degree in astronomy that requires you to look through a telescope, but after graduating you became permanently blind. You may be able to show and convince a bankruptcy judge that this constitutes “undue hardship.”

If you’re filing for bankruptcy protection, and you’re interested in exploring whether you qualify for a student loan bankruptcy discharge, you should seek out professional bankruptcy counsel. In Mankato, MN and the surrounding communities, Behm Law Group, Ltd. should be your first point of contact when considering your bankruptcy options. We have highly trained bankruptcy attorneys with extensive experience when it comes to making sense of the Bankruptcy Code and how it applies to our clients’ unique situations.

Let us guide you through the bankruptcy process. We know how bankruptcy law works and how it can work for you. Contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. today to discuss your bankruptcy options.