ANSWER: The good news is that all student loans can be forgiven, whether federal or private. If you haven’t already, take our 60-second undue hardship quiz.

The more boxes you can honestly check, the more likely your bankruptcy judge is to forgive your student loans. Read more about the undue hardship exception. Review our FAQ about simple lifestyle changes you can make to maximize your odds of discharging your educational debt.

Undue Hardship Exception

For any chance at wiping out your student debt in bankruptcy, you must qualify for the undue hardship exception. To qualify, you must be able to honestly check the first three quiz boxes:

• I have no money left over each month to pay my student loans
• My money problems aren’t going to get any better in the future
• Over the years, if I ever had extra money, I put it toward my student loans

Create a Plan of Action

Assuming you can check the first three boxes, look over the rest of your quiz results. The more boxes you can honestly check, the more likely the judge is to forgive your student loans. Review our FAQ to create a plan of action to improve your odds of wiping out your student debt.

Can you make changes that will allow you to check more boxes? Can you spend less money each month? Should you have retirement savings? Can you take on a second job? Have you applied for income based repayment plans? Should you buy a new car?

The longer you wait to file bankruptcy, the more likely the court is to forgive your student loans. At trial, you want to bring written proof for each quiz box you checked.