Student debt

[SHV]

What is the name of your state? Florida

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Hood has been ruled on by the US Supreme Court. Can anyone here interprete the ruling for the rest of us?

Thanks.

 

[xylene]

Can anyone here interprete the ruling for the rest of us?

I am sure any number of people would love to do so as soon as you provide a coherent story about the circumstances you are talking about.

This is an advice forum and it is impossible to coherently advise without at least a narrative explanation of your circumstances and the area of difficulty you are having.

 

[SHV]

I am sure any number of people would love to do so as soon as you provide a coherent story about the circumstances you are talking about.

This is an advice forum and it is impossible to coherently advise without at least a narrative explanation of your circumstances and the area of difficulty you are having.

I honestly don't wish to be sarcastic, but my question is coherent (logically connected) in its conciseness. IE: title: Student Debt Statement: Supreme Court ruling (concerning Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation--evidently regarding student debt)... It seems obvious that I have student debt and wish to know more about the ruling and how it applies to those of us who do. Please forgive me for not being more detailed. I simply did not wish to waste everyone's time having to read more details than necessary.

 

[Zigner]

I honestly don't wish to be sarcastic, but my question is coherent (logically connected) in its conciseness. IE: title: Student Debt Statement: Supreme Court ruling (concerning Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation--evidently regarding student debt)... It seems obvious that I have student debt and wish to know more about the ruling and how it applies to those of us who do. Please forgive me for not being more detailed. I simply did not wish to waste everyone's time having to read more details than necessary.

Then we won't waste your time providing more answers...
It is not "obvious" that you have student debt. In fact, it seems more likely to me that this is an assignment for school and that you are trying to get out of doing the work yourself!

 

[notsmartmark]

It sounded like a homework assignment, but SHV's first post changed my mind.

Unfortunately, the last four years have been very difficult. Up until then I was always able to pay my debts. Sallie Mae has my student loans on deferment at this time, but other creditors have turned me over to collection agencies. I'm working, but bringing home less than $1,100 a month, which barely keeps a roof over my head and pays for bare necessities. I would much rather pay, but I am at the point that I see no way in the even distant future to be able to. I recently found out that states have a statute of limitations on collections of certain debts, but I'm confused as to exactly what happens to the debt, when it happens and which debts are covered. Also. I know that my Federal Student Loans will have to be paid, but are the private bank student loans and credit card debt covered by this?

Here's a good synopsis (http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/1686/print)
Facts:
Pamela Hood had an outstanding debt to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, a loan-granting institution established by the state, when she filed for bankruptcy. The state objected to her request that the debt be forgiven ("discharged" in the terms of bankruptcy law) by the federal bankruptcy court, arguing that to discharge the debt would violate the state's sovereign immunity (that is, its right not to be sued). Hood countered that the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure allow student loan debts to be discharged if the bankruptcy filer can demonstrate that they will suffer "undue hardship" if the debt is not forgiven, and that this congressional permission is a constitutional waiver of state sovereign immunity because it falls under the power granted to Congress by the Bankruptcy Clause (Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution). The bankruptcy court sided with Hood, finding that Congress had acted constitutionally in waiving the states' sovereign immunity. The Sixth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed, as did a normal panel of the Sixth Circuit.

Question Presented:
Does the Bankruptcy Clause (Article I Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution) give Congress the power to waive a state's sovereign immunity in matters pertaining a federal bankruptcy court's forgiveness of debt owed to the state?

Conclusion:
In a per curiam (unsigned) opinion, the Court declined to reach the question of whether the Bankruptcy Clause gives Congress the power to waive a state's sovereign immunity. Instead, the Court ruled that discharging a debt owed to a state in a bankruptcy procedure is different from a suit and therefore not barred by sovereign immunity. "A bankruptcy court is able to provide the debtor a fresh start in this manner ... because the court's jurisdiction is premised on the debtor and his estate, and not on the creditors," wrote the Court. That is, the discharge of debt by a bankruptcy court is not a personal suit against a state (which would violate sovereign immunity) but instead merely a modification of a debtor's estate that incidentally affects a state. As such, it is permissible even without Congressional waiver of sovereign immunity.

 

[SHV]

Thank you, notsmartmark. Maybe I should have stated that I had posted before, but I really have been overwhelmed lately and wasn't thinking. Regardless, I still don't belive I deserved the personsal attacks by Xylene and Zigner. If either had simply asked, I would have understood the need for more info.
Your answer helped a lot. You are kind and, regardless of your list name, obviously smart.