Discharging Student Loan Debt ' Private Loans Are Not Always Exempt

Student loans are a big issue in the United States. According to the most recent data by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, there is currently $1.57 trillion in outstanding student debt, up from just $0.26 trillion 17 years ago.¹ Before the CARES Act suspended payments and interest accruals from August 2020-January 2022, student debt holders were also the most likely borrowers to be 90+ days delinquent, hovering around 11% from 2012 - 2019. Current bankruptcy law makes the discharge of most student loans extremely difficult; the borrower has to establish "undue hardship," a term not defined in the Bankruptcy Code, but which has been interpreted very strictly against student borrowers. The stratospheric rise in total...