Thousands of students are tied up in financial predicaments. Without grants and scholarship money, tuition rates are oftentimes too high for students to pay out of pocket. In many cases, students turn to lender to take out a loan in hopes of graduating from college with a job that will make it easy to repay their debts. Unfortunately, the current economic recession is making job opportunities for post-graduates pretty dismal. This dilemma frequently causes recent graduates to default on their student loans.


Deferral

If you are struggling to pay back your student loans, you do have options. In order to post-pone payment on your loans, you must be one of the following:

• Enrolled in graduate school, or have been granted an internship or fellowship for continuing education

• Unable to work due to a physical disability

• Unemployed

• Undergoing financial hardships

• In the peace corps, or a similar volunteer organization

• A new parent, or working mother

• In, or recently released from, the military

Additionally, in order to be eligible for a deferment, you must be in your 6-9 month grace period following graduation, and you must not have defaulted on your loan payments.

Forbearance

If you cannot qualify for a deferment, you may pursue forbearance. In order to qualify, you must be one of the following:

• In poor health

• Suffering unforeseeable personal problems

• Unable to repay your loan within the maximum repayment term (10 years)

• Paying more than 20% of your monthly income to repay your loans

To pursue a deferral or forbearance, contact your loan provider and explain your situation. You will have to fill out extensive paperwork explaining your predicament.

Bankruptcy

If you do not qualify for either option, you may want to consider discharging your student loan through bankruptcy. While student loans are rarely relieved this way, it is possible. In order to do so, you must have the help of a qualified attorney who can convince the court that repaying your loan would cause you serious financial hardship. When evaluating a bankruptcy discharge, the court considers your income and expenses, how long your financial hardships are likely to continue, and how hard you have tried to repay your debt.

For more information about how to defer student loans, or to learn about the benefits of filing for bankruptcy, contact the West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorneys at the law office of Eric N. Klein & Associates today.