According
to
Upsolve,
a
nonprofit
company
whose
technology
helps
low-income
individuals
file
for
bankruptcy
for
free,
Americans
owe
$1.77
trillion
in
student
loan
debt
—
93%
of
it
to
the
federal
government.
Since
2017,
Upsolve’s
debt
relief
tools
have
helped
more
than
13,000
individuals
erase
more
than
$750
million
in
debt.
But,
due
to
the
vagaries
of
bankruptcy
law,
it
was
not
able
to
help
them
get
relief
from
student
loan
debt.
Jonathan
Petts,
cofounder
and
CEO,
says
that
some
32%
of
Upsolve’s
users
had
significant
student
loan
debt.
Often,
that
meant
that,
even
after
Upsolve
helped
them
go
through
a
Chapter
7
bankruptcy,
they
still
carried
thousands
of
dollars
in
student
loan
debt
and
were
unable
to
fully
realize
a
fresh
start.
That
all
changed
last
week
with
Upsolve’s
launch
of
a
new
student
loan
discharge
tool
that
it
developed
in
partnership
with
Philadelphia
Legal
Assistance
and
with
funding
from
a
2023
Legal
Services
Corporation
Technology
Initiative
Grant.
Already,
102
cases
have
been
filed
using
the
tool
to
seek
relief
from
student
loan
debt,
with
nine
approved
and
93
more
still
in
progress.
Hardship
Exemptions
At
a
recent
launch
event
for
the
new
tool, Ben
Jackson,
chief
product
officer
at
Upsolve,
said
that
development
of
the
tool
was
enabled
by
a
November
2022
guidance
published
by
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice
on
the
discharge
of
student
loans
in
bankruptcy
cases.
Prior
to
the
guidance,
a
lack
of
clear
standards
and
inconsistent
interpretations
of
the
law
made
it
difficult
to
obtain
relief
from
student
loan
debt
in
bankruptcy
cases.
But
with
the
guidance
came
clear
standards
for
obtaining
a
so-called
hardship
exemption,
and
with
clear
standards
came
the
ability
of
Upsolve
to
build
a
tool
around
those
standards.
At
the
launch
event,
Jackson
said
that
this
work
is
personal
to
him.
Before
ever
graduating
from
Chicago-Kent
College
of
Law
and
joining
Upsolve,
he
went
through
a
period
during
which
he
fell
into
deep
debt
and
was
able
to
climb
out
only
through
bankruptcy.
Now,
among
the
experiences
he
lists
on
his
LinkedIn
profile,
he
includes
self-represented
litigant
in
U.S.
Bankruptcy
Court,
impoverished
gig
worker,
and
bereaved
cofounder.
In
short,
he’s
been
there,
done
that.
Guided
Interview
Demonstrating
the
student
loan
relief
tool,
Jackson
said
that
it
is
an
add-on
to
Upsolve’s
core
Chapter
7
relief
tool.
For
debtors
who
are
filing
for
bankruptcy
and
also
have
outstanding
student
loans,
it
walks
them
through
the
additional
steps
required
for
discharge
of
those
loans.
The
tool
starts
with
a
set
of
a
few
simple
questions
to
determine
if
the
debtor
is
eligible
for
the
hardship
exemption.
If
so,
it
guides
them
through
the
process
of
gathering
and
providing
the
information
they
need,
while
also
educating
them
at
each
step
as
to
what
is
required
and
why.
It
specifically
helps
them
obtain
and
pull
in
all
the
information
they
need
about
their
debts,
including
their
report
from
the
National
Student
Loan
Data
System,
which
Jackson
says
can
otherwise
be
one
of
the
hardest
parts
for
a
pro
se
filer.
It
then
compiles
all
that
information
into
the
forms
needed
to
file
for
the
hardship
exemption,
including
the
complaint
to
initiate
the
adversarial
proceeding
for
the
student
loan
discharge
and
the
attestation
that
sets
out
the
arguments
for
why
the
discharge
should
be
allowed.
The
user
also
gets
a
detailed
checklist
that
specifies
the
steps
to
take
to
file
and
follow
through
on
the
documents.
Sense
of
Freedom
At
the
launch
event
for
the
tool,
the
speakers
included
three
individuals
who
used
the
tool
to
obtain
relief
from
their
student
loan
debt.
One,
a
single
mom,
said
the
relief
has
given
her
such
a
sense
of
freedom
and
made
her
feel
ready
for
the
next
chapter
in
her
life.
Another
talked
about
her
sleepless
nights
and
calls
to
multiple
law
firms
wanting
unaffordable
fees
and
scam
debt-relief
sites
before
she
used
Upsolve’s
tool.
Still
another
said
she
initially
thought
Upsolve
was
just
another
scam,
but
felt
she
had
nothing
to
lose
and
at
least
it
was
free.
If
you
want
to
hear
more
about
the
development
of
this
tool,
listen
to
the
recent
episode
of
the
Talk
Justice
podcast,
Upsolve’s
New
Student
Debt
Relief
Tools.
Host
Ron
Flagg,
president
of
the
Legal
Services
Corporation,
interviews
Jackson,
Upsolve’s
chief
product
officer,
together
with
Jonathan
Pyle,
contract
performance
officer
at
Philadelphia
Legal
Assistance,
who
was
instrumental
in
conceiving
of
the
tool
and
obtaining
the
LSC
grant
to
build
it.