Expert: Terry Leeders - 8/22/2009

Question
Counselor, I am in the first stage of starting a Chapter 13 filing, my attorney is reviewing my case.  We are running into a problem on the debt ceiling, I am over that debt ceiling because of my student loan debt.  As you know they are not secured and cannot be discharged.  Are they counted in the debt differently?  With the type of debt I owe on student loans that would push me into a Chapt 11 ?  Do you know of any rulings on this type of situation where student loans caused an individual to go over the debt limit and where it was not counted as such ?

Help…


Answer
If you have more than $336,900 in unsecured debt, you are not eligible to be a debtor under chapter 13.  There is no special exception for student loans.  Educational debts are not dischargeable in most cases anyways. You can look at chapter 11, and should meet with an attorney who handles chapter 11 cases, as there are many intricacies to deal with.