On the advice of your parents, you went to a university that was out of state. You took on as many credit hours as you could to get out of school early, but that meant you couldn’t work.
Over the course of the three years it took you to get your degree, you didn’t work a day. You didn’t pay anything on your loans and racked up debt on your credit cards. You knew what you were doing, but you were happy to do it considering that you’d be able to get a job after graduation and pay everything back.
The problem is that it’s six months after graduation, you haven’t found a job and you’re struggling to make ends meet. Your parents can’t afford to help you cover your student loans on top of your other debts, and they’re about to come due. What should you do?
Bankruptcy is one option for people struggling to pay back unsecured debt
Although you won’t be able to discharge your school loans under most circumstances, the unsecured debts you’ve taken on, like credit card debts or other unsecured loans, may be able to be discharged through bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy requires the liquidation of any nonexempt assets, but you’re then able to go through the process to discharge any approved debts.
What about student loans? There are options for those, though bankruptcy isn’t likely to be one of them. You may want to try asking for a forbearance or deferment, so you can give yourself more time to get into the workforce and get established. Our site has more on the options you have to get out of debt.
