Free Consultation

Can I include my old student loan?

I stopped going to school in June of 1998 on student loan. Then in February 2009 I went back to school on a re-training grant and did not take a student loan am I able to go bankrupt or do a consumer proposal for the student loan from 1998?

Posted from: Alberta

One Response to “Can I include my old student loan?”

Desmond West-Chow, CIRP said...

This is a very good question and something that has been going through the court systems recently. The main concept at question here is the rule that student loans are not cleared from bankruptcy or consumer proposal unless the individual has been out of school (full or part time) for seven years from the date the debt resolution begins. Now the two arguments currently being decided in court are: a) going back to school at all would reset the seven year rule or b) the seven year rule applies to the time you attend school for that loan. As the court’s decision on this is an ongoing matter, there is currently and unfortunately no definitive answer on this subject. Unfortunately, until the court rules we are left with the old rule that states you have to have been out of school for 7 years for the loans to be cleared.