Broome County Family Law Blog

New York is home to some of the nation's finest universities, and the students who attend them often take on tens of thousands of dollars of debt to pay their tuition and living expenses. Individuals who are struggling to make student loan payments often believe that this type of debt cannot be discharged in a personal bankruptcy, but this is not always true. While the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act does make student loans exempt from discharge most of the time, the 2005 law does allow relief to be granted to prevent undue hardship.

The problem facing bankruptcy filers is that the lawmakers who drafted the bill were not clear about what 'undue hardship" actually means. The Department of Education is working to create a definition to clear up the ambiguity, but determining what is and what is not an undue hardship is currently the job of the courts. Most courts use the Brunner test to evaluate hardship. The test is named after the plaintiff in a 1987 New York bankruptcy case.

Most of the people in New York and around the country who file personal bankruptcy do so because of overwhelming medical debt, and many of them find themselves in an unsustainable financial situation after losing their health insurance coverage. Individuals often lose their health insurance after leaving a job or going through a divorce, and a coverage gap of only two years makes bankruptcy twice as likely according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Denver and the University of Missouri discovered the link between health insurance coverage gaps and personal bankruptcy filings after examining 12,500 Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study worries experts because about 20 million Americans could lose their health coverage if the Affordable Care Act is ruled unconstitutional. The matter is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In some cases, a separated or divorced parent may be worried about the safety of their kid with the other parent. While New York courts usually take these concerns seriously, they also want to be certain that the allegations are true. Therefore, they will generally conduct an investigation.

A parent should collect any documentation, including police reports or medical information, that support the claims. Documentation may also come in the form of testimony from family members, friends, neighbors or even the child's teacher. Child protective services might get involved in the investigation and interview some of these individuals. If the child has a therapist, this professional may be able to present an opinion. However, a judge might also order an evaluation from a different therapist.

According to statistics gathered by the Pew Research Center, the rate of divorce for people age 50 and over has doubled since 1990. While divorce at any age can be very difficult, couples who separate after turning 50 face a more immediate challenge regarding their retirement. For some people in New York, there is little risk, but others may face a more difficult path ahead if they don't meet certain criteria.

Social Security is the largest source of retirement income for Americans. That's why spouses who never worked may be worried that they'll lose these benefits after a separation. However, an ex-spouse could be entitled to 50% of their former partner's full Social Security benefits even after divorce. This only remains true if the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the recipient remains unmarried. Furthermore, these benefits will only be granted if the person's own Social Security income is not worth more than 50% of the ex-spouse's.