Lessons From In Re Chase: Student Loan Discharge and Loan Consolidation

A recent decision out of Maine underscores the strategic nuances of discharging student loans in bankruptcy.

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Rahaf Alrehaili, Esq.

Attorney

Rahaf Alrehaili is an attorney admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as in the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, and the District Court of New Jersey. She graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in May 2022 and began her legal career at a boutique bankruptcy law office in Newark, New Jersey. Her practice focuses on consumer bankruptcy, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases, with a particular interest on student loan cases.

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By Jan Hamilton, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) I just got back from RAGBRAI, which is a bicycle ride across Iowa. This year, it was 468 miles, with lots and lots of hills. (Biking Across Kansas was over 500 miles this year.) Such beautiful country. Estimates vary on actual number of riders, but anywhere from 16,000 to 20,000. Iowa...

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By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction The Academy has focused at length on the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA).1 SBRA deals on its face with a non-consumer topic, but it is of interest also to Chapter 12 and 13 trustees and debtors, creating a new, more debtor-friendly subchapter V of Chapter 11 for...

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By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Background Last year, the Ninth Circuit in In re Taggart1 ruled that an act in violation of the discharge injunction did not empower a court to find a creditor in contempt, if the creditor believed in good faith that the discharge injunction did not apply—even if the creditor's belief was...

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Lawrence R. Ahern, III Brown & Ahern Nashville, Tennessee Appendix B Adjustments to Means Test Amounts (Cases Filed On or After November 1, 2020) The tables on the following page provide median family income adjustments reproduced in a format designed for ease of use in completing Bankruptcy Forms 122A-1 and 122C-1. STATE 1 EARNER FAMILY SIZE 2 PEOPLE 3 PEOPLE...

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The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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This month, Prof. Rapoport looks at the question: What should happen when the Rule 2016 statement on compensation conflicts with the SOFA #16?

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We Love You Dan (“Stingray”) Brunner!!

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