In the past, bankruptcy could be declared on most any debt. Going Bankrupt with student loans was fairly common. In 2005 the bankruptcy laws were changed, the changes that were made in the Bankruptcy Code have effectively stopped an individual from being able to file bankruptcy due to student loans - no matter how old the student loan may be.

Unless you can prove that you are in dire hardship, the only way that filing bankruptcy benefits people with student loans is that the bankruptcy may free up money from other debts that can be applied to the student loan. For instance, if you have $600.00 worth of debt payments per month discharged through a bankruptcy, this amount can be applied to a student loan.

If you want to try to prove hardship and do a bankruptcy due to student loans, you should know that you would have to prove that paying back the loan would put you or your family under undue hardship. This means you must show that paying back the student loan would greatly impact you or your family and would keep you from maintaining an adequate standard of living. In the instance that hardship is proven, the court will discharge a portion of the student loan but may still require the debtor to repay a portion of the loan.

While bankruptcy due to student loans may not be an option, you should know that there are other avenues you can investigate which may help you with your student loans. There are various agencies and counseling services which offer consolidation programs and budget help. They can even work with your lenders to arrange a repayment program that will be based on your income.

If you have been through a bankruptcy and are looking to go back into education and feel that you will need to take out student loans then you will need to obtain as much financial information as you can before applying for them. It is possible to get student loans after bankruptcy but it is not as simple as it is without a bankruptcy in your past.