Posts Tagged ‘bankruptcy canada student loans’

Student Loan Debt causing Financial problems for Canada Students

February 18th, 2013
Canada Student Loan Debt

Canada Student Loan Debt

Canada Student loan debt seems to be prevalent everywhere, even for Canadian students looking to make more money when they graduate by pursuing a post secondary education.  Most of the students in Canada are pursuing post secondary education in order to secure a good job and to become a more productive employee. Therefore, a good educational background can help the youngsters in Canada to make more money. A large number of young Canadians consider post secondary education as their right in order to pave the path to secure their future.

Of late, the students and their parents find it extremely difficult to manage their higher educational expenses. Therefore, most of the people rely on Canadian student loans to pay for an increased education. However, as student loans become exorbitant, so many students are failing to pay back the owed amount on time. In this tough economic situation, students have defaulted on payments and compounded their financial situation.

In Canada, the eligibility criteria to obtain a student loan is based on financial need, rather than on good credit or on the ability to pay off the loan. Most of the young students continuously take out student loans without realizing the peril of mounting debt.

According to the statistics in Canada, the average student debt after graduating is $19,000. In their early working years, the graduates are burdened with this overwhelming debt. The mounting interest rates on the owed amount have complicated the financial situation of these graduates and the overwhelming debts adversely affect their financial state for some time.

Well, the financial experts often suggest to pay off the debts as the accruing interest on the principal balance makes it unaffordable to pay off. According to the Canadian bankruptcy law, the borrowers are required to be out of school for 7 years before the loans are forgiven. Therefore, you may have to pay more in the long run if you take more time to pay off these student loans.

Canadian law also states that a former student who defaults on their student loan payments can face the consequences of wage garnishment. The borrowers are required to meet minimum standard to have their wages garnished. The maximum amount of wages that can be garnished is 15%. You need to earn between 220 and 240 Canadian Dollars per week, as it is the minimum income requirement for the borrowers for their wages garnished.

Generally, Canadian student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy.  However, only in exceptional cases the loans are discharged. Therefore, if you’re unable to pay off your student loan debts, you may want to take up some help of a financial expert to eliminate your financial woes.

Bankruptcy Laws for Canada Student Loans

October 18th, 2010
Canada student loans bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Canada Student Loans

You’ve graduated from college, and you have your degree – along with a mountain of Canada student loan debt. Unfortunately, with the current state of the economy, repaying that Canadian student loan may prove difficult, even if you have found employment. You need to know about bankruptcy laws for Canada Student Loans, since bankruptcy may be your only viable option for getting out of debt.

Bankruptcy Laws Canada Student Loans

Fortunately, a new law was passed in Canada on July 8, 2008. Unfortunately, this law only applies to you if you have been out of school for at least seven years. In the past, you had to be out of school for ten years, and the administrator of your Canada student loans could actually take funds from your Registered Retirement Savings Plans, also known as RRSPs, to repay your student loans. Under the new law, this is no longer allowed. However, funds that have been contributed to your RRSP during the year prior to filing for bankruptcy are at risk for seizure.

In some cases, the judge in bankruptcy court will discharge your Canada student loan debt if you have only been out of school for five years, if you can prove that continuing to pay the debt, even after other debts have been discharged, would still create financial hardship for you, but this is rare.

If it has not been seven years since you have graduated or left school and your student loans are causing you extreme financial hardship, contact the administrator of your Canadian student loans to see if lower payments can be made, or if payments can be deferred for a specific period of time. In some cases, the principle portion of the payment will be deferred – or put off until a later date – but only if you continue to make the interest portion of the payments.

Additionally, the Canadian Government may actually forgive a portion of your Canada student loans – without you filing for bankruptcy. This happens more often than you might think. There is no set percentage that will be forgiven, but you can be certain that the entire amount will not be forgiven – you will still owe money. However, if some of the loan is wiped out, this will significantly lower the payment. You can find out if this is possible through your loan administrator or service centre.

Failing all of this, contact a Consumer Credit Counselor to see if they can negotiate a lower payment for your Canada student loans. This is almost always a better option than bankruptcy, or negotiating yourself, as the results are usually more favorable for you. There are many options open to you aside from bankruptcy, and those options should be explored thoroughly before taking any other action. If you do decide that bankruptcy is the way to go, you will need to get in touch with either a Bankruptcy Attorney or a Bankruptcy Trustee.

Canada Student Loans Bankruptcy Resource

For more information, or to find out how to file go to bankruptcy Canada student loans. Additionally, you should check with the administrator of your Canadian student loan to determine whether you are eligible for assistance.

Related Reading on Student Loans in Canada

Non Government Student Loans in Canada.

Canada Student Loan Debt for Canadian Students.