A judge stripped a veteran’s $221,000 in student loan forgiveness, and it shows how hard the law makes it to get rid of student debt

A judge stripped a veteran’s $221,000 in student loan forgiveness, and it shows how hard the law makes it to get rid of student debt

In 2020, a bankruptcy judge granted Kevin Rosenberg, a Navy veteran, $221,000 in student-loan forgiveness from his undergraduate education and law school. A year later, a federal judge reversed that decision leaving Rosenberg on the hook for his massive debt. And it comes down to complexities in bankruptcy law that keep many borrowers in student debt. Lawmakers have been pushing to reform bankruptcy standards for student loan discharges because of how difficult it is to prove enough hardship to qualify for forgiveness, and Rosenberg's original ruling showed some possible hope for debtors who are trying to do the same. But now the case is back to square one. US Bankruptcy Court Judge Cecilia Morris Rosenberg's loans through bankruptcy last year using the Brunner test — a legal test created in 1987 that requires borrowers to show "undue hardship" caused by their student debt. The test defines that hardship as meaning they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living, their circumstances will likely not improve, and they have made a good-faith effort in repaying their debt. Morris wrote in her ruling that Rosenberg satisfied the legal test, saying she would not perpetuate "myths" that it's impossible to discharge student debt through