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“This is What Happens to Student Loans When You Die”.
The following is a summary of USA Today article.
It is important that you know the type of student loan (federal or private), the guarantors of the student loan (parents, etc), and the law of the state where you live. This article cannot walk you through each variation of different student loans, but the goal is to provide you with an outline and some ideas to consider in planning your estate (what you leave when you pass).
Federal student loans:
Upon your death the federal student debts in your name are discharged. To receive this discharge, your survivors need to present a certified death certificate to the loan servicer.
Parent PLUS loans:
Parent PLUS borrowers are also eligible for a death discharge since PLUS loans are federal loans. According to Jay Fleischman, a student loan lawyer, “These loans can be discharged when either the parent or the student dies,” he explained. “Discharged federal student loan obligations won’t pass to your estate, and your heirs won’t have to pay them off.” But, the remaining debt canceled is treated as taxable income “forgiveness of debt”.
Private student loans:
Private student loans, including refinanced loans, are more like traditional personal loans, where the lenders might come for your estate when you die. That means your creditors can file a claim against assets you owe upon your death.
Cosigning a student loan:
A co-signer is legally responsible for your debt after you pass away, regardless of the type of loan in question. Consider looking into a cosigner release.
Marriage and student loans:
If you acquired student loan debt during marriage and live in one of the nine community property states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin — your spouse could be liable for your student loans after you die.
If you do not live in a community property state your spouse probably not liable unless they cosigned the loans.
RESOURCES:
- Use the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to figure out who your servicers are and contact them to find out their policies.
- In addition, look into cosigner release and a life insurance policy that could help with any outstanding debt, and now a days you can get insurance from even companies online as One Sure Insurance.
- Consider federal loan consolidation or student loan refinancing.
This article originally appeared on StudentLoanHero.com and was written by Melanie Lockert.
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About the Author:
Diane L. Drain is a well known and respected Arizona bankruptcy attorney. She is an expert in both consumer bankruptcy and Arizona foreclosure. Since 1985 she has been a dedicated advocate for her clients and spokesperson for Arizona citizens. Diane is a retired professor of law teaching bankruptcy for more than 20 years. As a teacher she believes in offering everyone, not just her clients, advice about the Arizona bankruptcy laws. She is also a mentor to hundreds of Arizona attorneys. 
I would be flattered if you connected with me on GOOGLE+
*Important Note from Diane: Nothing on this website should be construed as establishing a lawyer-client relationship between you, me, the author of any page or the website owner (me) who happens to be a lawyer. Everything on this web site is available for educational purposes only, is not intended to provide legal advice nor create an attorney client relationship between you, me, or the author of any article. You may pick up some information about bankruptcy, foreclosure or the practice of law written by myself or others. Any information in this web site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from an attorney familiar with your personal circumstances and licensed to practice law in your state.*
The post Do Student Loan Debts Die With You? appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
Wells Fargo in trouble again.
Once again the New York Times reports on Wells Fargo’s fraudulent account scandal. No, this is not the same one from 2016, this is a new one where the bank just “found” more than a million additional unauthorized accounts, raising the total to 3.5 million accounts.
“Every time we get one of these announcements, the pressure rises,” said Nancy Bush, a banking industry analyst who runs NAB Research. “How many customers, and how many employees within Wells Fargo, are coming to the conclusion, ‘I don’t need to be associated with this’?”
Besides the additional accounts announced Thursday, the wider review uncovered a new issue: unauthorized enrollments of customers in the bank’s online bill payment service; a service that is now free.
One of the bank’s fiercest critics, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, laid into it with a scathing statement: “Unbelievable. Wells Fargo’s massive fraud is even worse than we thought.”
A coalition of 33 consumer groups sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to bring Wells Fargo executives back to Capitol Hill — where Mr. Stumpf was roasted last year by unhappy lawmakers, shortly before he stepped down under pressure — to answer new questions about the bank’s abuses. The bank “may have intentionally misled” lawmakers in its previous testimony, they said. Ms. Warren, who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, also called for the committee to hold a new hearing.
Continue reading the main story
Is Wells Fargo too big to care about threats?
Note from Diane: now I have to ask – how many of you believe the bank’s excuses? Personally, I think that Wells Fargo believes no regulator can reach them and that it can bully anyone – consumer or politician. It has gotten away with this type of behavior for so many decades that it was certain no one could touch them. I support Senator Elizabeth Warren‘s attempt to make Wells Fargo accountable for their outrageous actions. Enough is enough. I moved all our accounts, both personal and business, out of Wells Fargo.
Share this entry
About the Author:
Diane L. Drain is a well known and respected Arizona bankruptcy attorney. She is an expert in both consumer bankruptcy and Arizona foreclosure. Since 1985 she has been a dedicated advocate for her clients and spokesperson for Arizona citizens. Diane is a retired professor of law teaching bankruptcy for more than 20 years. As a teacher she believes in offering everyone, not just her clients, advice about the Arizona bankruptcy laws. She is also a mentor to hundreds of Arizona attorneys.
I would be flattered if you connected with me on GOOGLE+
*Important Note from Diane: Nothing on this website should be construed as establishing a lawyer-client relationship between you, me, the author of any page or the website owner (me) who happens to be a lawyer. Everything on this web site is available for educational purposes only, is not intended to provide legal advice nor create an attorney client relationship between you, me, or the author of any article. You may pick up some information about bankruptcy, foreclosure or the practice of law written by myself or others. Any information in this web site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from an attorney familiar with your personal circumstances and licensed to practice law in your state.*
The post Wells Fargo Discloses More Fraudulent Accounts appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
Wells Fargo in trouble again.
Once again the New York Times reports on Wells Fargo’s fraudulent account scandal. No, this is not the same one from 2016, this is a new one where the bank just “found” more than a million additional unauthorized accounts, raising the total to 3.5 million accounts.
“Every time we get one of these announcements, the pressure rises,” said Nancy Bush, a banking industry analyst who runs NAB Research. “How many customers, and how many employees within Wells Fargo, are coming to the conclusion, ‘I don’t need to be associated with this’?”
Besides the additional accounts announced Thursday, the wider review uncovered a new issue: unauthorized enrollments of customers in the bank’s online bill payment service; a service that is now free.
One of the bank’s fiercest critics, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, laid into it with a scathing statement: “Unbelievable. Wells Fargo’s massive fraud is even worse than we thought.”
A coalition of 33 consumer groups sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to bring Wells Fargo executives back to Capitol Hill — where Mr. Stumpf was roasted last year by unhappy lawmakers, shortly before he stepped down under pressure — to answer new questions about the bank’s abuses. The bank “may have intentionally misled” lawmakers in its previous testimony, they said. Ms. Warren, who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, also called for the committee to hold a new hearing.
Continue reading the main story
Is Wells Fargo too big to care about threats?
Note from Diane: now I have to ask – how many of you believe the bank’s excuses? Personally, I think that Wells Fargo believes no regulator can reach them and that it can bully anyone – consumer or politician. It has gotten away with this type of behavior for so many decades that it was certain no one could touch them. I support Senator Elizabeth Warren‘s attempt to make Wells Fargo accountable for their outrageous actions. Enough is enough. I moved all our accounts, both personal and business, out of Wells Fargo.
Share this entry
About the Author:
Diane L. Drain is a well known and respected Arizona bankruptcy attorney. She is an expert in both consumer bankruptcy and Arizona foreclosure. Since 1985 she has been a dedicated advocate for her clients and spokesperson for Arizona citizens. Diane is a retired professor of law teaching bankruptcy for more than 20 years. As a teacher she believes in offering everyone, not just her clients, advice about the Arizona bankruptcy laws. She is also a mentor to hundreds of Arizona attorneys. 
I would be flattered if you connected with me on GOOGLE+
*Important Note from Diane: Nothing on this website should be construed as establishing a lawyer-client relationship between you, me, the author of any page or the website owner (me) who happens to be a lawyer. Everything on this web site is available for educational purposes only, is not intended to provide legal advice nor create an attorney client relationship between you, me, or the author of any article. You may pick up some information about bankruptcy, foreclosure or the practice of law written by myself or others. Any information in this web site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from an attorney familiar with your personal circumstances and licensed to practice law in your state.*
The post Wells Fargo Discloses More Fraudulent Accounts appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
CFPB Knocks Out Another Scam Yesterday, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau put another credit repair outfit out of business. This was National Credit Advisors. These folks claimed that you can use them to “free yourself from bad credit.” According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, they collected $20 million from 50,000 consumers over a three […]The post Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Knocks Out A Scam by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.
CFPB Knocks Out Another Scam Yesterday, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau put another credit repair outfit out of business. This was National Credit Advisors. These folks claimed that you can use them to “free yourself from bad credit.” According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, they collected $20 million from 50,000 consumers over a three […]
CFPB Knocks Out Another Scam Yesterday, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau put another credit repair outfit out of business. This was National Credit Advisors. These folks claimed that you can use them to “free yourself from bad credit.” According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, they collected $20 million from 50,000 consumers over a three […]
The post Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Knocks Out A Scam by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.
Upright Law on trial in Roanoke Bankruptcy court Trial is set on September 25, 2017, for Upright Law, at the bankruptcy courthouse in Roanoke VA. The US Justice Department, through the Office of the United States Trustee, is asking that Upright be banned from accepting cases in Virginia. They are also asking for refunds for […]
Upright Law on trial in Roanoke Bankruptcy court Trial is set on September 25, 2017, for Upright Law, at the bankruptcy courthouse in Roanoke VA. The US Justice Department, through the Office of the United States Trustee, is asking that Upright be banned from accepting cases in Virginia. They are also asking for refunds for […]
The post Upright Law on trial in Roanoke Bankruptcy court by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.
Upright Law on trial in Roanoke Bankruptcy court Trial is set on September 25, 2017, for Upright Law, at the bankruptcy courthouse in Roanoke VA. The US Justice Department, through the Office of the United States Trustee, is asking that Upright be banned from accepting cases in Virginia. They are also asking for refunds for […]The post Upright Law on trial in Roanoke Bankruptcy court by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.
Here at Shenwick & Associates, we’ve been paying close attention to developments concerning the plummeting values of New York City taxicab medallions. A client we’ve been working with sent us this AP story last month that describes how the taxicab medallion crash isn’t just affecting owners of medallions and cab drivers, but has spread to lending companies.
According to the article, three credit unions that specialized in loans collateralized by taxicab medallions have been placed into conservatorship with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), including LOMTO Federal Credit Union and Melrose Credit Union . The article also alleges that the NCUA is aggressively attempting to collect from borrowers, even those who are current on their loan payments, by demanding payment of the loan in full and threatening foreclosure on the assets pledged as collateral against the loan (which may include not just the medallion, but also motor vehicles and real estate).
In a April 2014 supervisory letter regarding taxi medallion lending , the NCUA advised field staff to “[c]onfirm that a credit union that places more emphasis on the collateral value than on standard cash flow qualifications supports the market premium with other committed sources of repayment to the loan and additional collateral.” Based on this guidance, we can expect that that the management teams hired by the NCUA to administer these credit unions will demand additional collateral to further secure these loans, and if they’re unsuccessful, to commence foreclosure actions against the current collateral.
As we’ve detailed in our initial e-mail on the topic , there are many possible options to consider to address “underwater” taxi medallions, including a workout and several bankruptcy scenarios, but a detailed financial analysis is necessary. Our firm specializes in debtor/creditor relations and bankruptcy, so if you need help with your taxi medallion debt, please contact Jim Shenwick.
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