My spouse had student loans stemming from her prior marriage, which due to factors beyond her control she was not able to repay.
These were incurred in the late 1980's. In 2005, she and I filed a
Chapter 7 petition to discharge these debts, since we met the criteria established under In re Pena, decided in 1997. The Department of Education did not appear at the hearing, and they made no objection to the discharge of the debt. Now, two years after the petition was granted, the DOE claims that the debt was not subject to discharge, and in addition even though under law only half the refund should be seizable, DOE claims that they are entitled to the whole amount.
First, can the government collect a debt that has been wiped out by operation of law? Can the government disregard those laws that it finds inconvenient? Second, a spouse is not supposed to be liable for the educational debts of the other spouse. So why are they entitled to the whole refund?
2007-02-14
09:40:21
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7 answers
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asked by
Jeffrey V
4
in
Law & Ethics