student loans

Republican Tax Plan May Expand Dischargeability of Private Student Loan Debt

11/04/17
In an application of the law of unintended consequences, the Republican plan to eliminate the deduction for student loan interest may render private student loans subject to discharge in bankruptcy.  
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Consumer Rights to Know Regarding Adverse Action

03/30/17

Four core federal consumer financial laws—the Truth in Lending Act (and Reg Z), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (and Reg E), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (and Reg X) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (and

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CFPB and ACICS Retrospective

12/16/16

The Department of Education just stripped the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools of its accreditation role.  (For those of you not in academy, this accreditation is critical for schools to get DoE funds, among other things.  It's part of what enables the ABA's on-going tyranny of legal education.)  Some of you might remember that in 2015, the CFPB issued a Civil Investigative Demand to ACICS, the authority for which ACICS challenged successfully.

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John Oliver and consumer law YouTube videos

08/22/16

I'm trying something new this year.

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One Word in Bankruptcy Law That Could Lead to More Forgiven Student Loans

05/11/16

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The instructions from Congress for how a struggling student loan borrower can attempt to leave that debt behind in bankruptcy contains one word that can have two meanings.

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A Story of Student Loan Hell

03/24/16
Occasionally I receive emails from people who have read the blog wanting to share their stories or objecting to what I wrote about their case.    They are a poignant reminder that the legal issues we deal with affect real people.   When I write about a case, I am writing about the facts as found by the Court.   The story that comes out of the official court record may be very different from how the individuals involved saw it.   Today I received an email from a woman who offered to share her story about her 30 year
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Arrested For Not Paying Student Loans? No – The Paul Aker Story Was Essentially Fabricated

02/17/16

akers“Believe it or not, the US Marshals Service in Houston is arresting people for not paying their outstanding federal student loans.”  So says Fox 26 Houston reporter Isiah Carey.  The problem is, this statement is absolutely false.  Paul Aker owed student loans, and was apparently in default.  Paul Aker was sued for the student loan debt, and a j

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Student Loan Interest Accruing Faster than Garnishment Limits?

11/29/15

The New York Times recently ran a very sad, if extreme and unrepresentative, story of student loan debt. There's lots one can say about the article, but two points really jumped out at me. 

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Servicers Serve the Interests of the Lender, NOT the Student Loan Borrower

11/18/15

I have enormous respect and appreciation for the CFPB and the wonderful and talented and committed folks who work there. Thus I am mystified that in their efforts to improve servicing of student loans and directing of student loan at-risk borrowers to the window that would help them, they continue to misunderstand the basic nature of capitalism and its profit motive and the borrower-lender relationship.

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