Student Debt Attorney in Sevierville

Over 60 Years of Bankruptcy Experience. Free Consultations for Sevier County.

Student loan debt doesn’t respond to standard bankruptcy rules the way credit cards or medical bills do. At The Law Offices Of Mayer & Newton, Richard Mayer and John Newton bring over 60 years of combined bankruptcy law experience to this kind of complicated debt question. We’ve filed more than 50,000 bankruptcy cases in the Eastern District of Tennessee, which means we know this court and how it handles difficult financial situations. Consultations are free.

If student loan debt is driving your financial distress, call our Sevierville office at (865) 328-7993 to schedule a free consultation with our team.

Why Student Loans Survive Most Bankruptcy Filings

Federal law treats student loans differently from other unsecured debt. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8), student loans are presumed non-dischargeable in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Congress reinforced this in 2005 by extending the same restrictions to private student loans, so borrowers can’t sidestep the rule by pointing to the loan’s source. To address that presumption, a borrower must prove undue hardship through a separate legal process.

The Undue Hardship Path to Discharge

Pursuing a student loan discharge requires filing a Complaint to Determine Dischargeability, a formal adversary proceeding filed within the bankruptcy case. Courts evaluate these claims using the Brunner test, a three-part standard that asks whether you can maintain a minimal standard of living while repaying the loan, whether that hardship is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period, and whether you made good-faith efforts to repay before filing.

Tennessee falls within the Sixth Circuit, which has adopted the Brunner test as the controlling standard for undue hardship claims. Unlike some other circuits, the Sixth Circuit applies each of the three prongs directly rather than blending them into a looser totality-of-the-circumstances analysis. Each prong still involves a detailed, fact-specific look at a debtor’s income, expenses, health, job skills, and repayment history, so your full financial picture matters within that structured framework.

What Bankruptcy Can Do Even Without a Full Discharge

A hardship discharge isn’t the only way bankruptcy can help. Chapter 13 lets you propose a court-approved repayment plan that reorganizes what you owe across multiple creditors, giving student loan payments a manageable place in your monthly budget. While that plan is active, the automatic stay protects you from collection calls, wage garnishments, and other creditor actions, including those from student loan servicers.

For borrowers weighing options outside of bankruptcy, we also review whether programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment might address the situation more directly. The right path depends on your income, your loan types, and your broader financial picture, which is exactly what a consultation is designed to assess.

Our Sevierville Office & the Eastern District of Tennessee

We maintain a physical office in Sevierville, so Sevier County clients aren’t routed through a distant call center. Sevier County falls within the Northern Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, with cases heard in Knoxville. We practice in that court regularly, and clients here receive the same priority and attention as clients anywhere else in our service area.

A Former Trustee’s Perspective on Your Finances

John Newton served as a Chapter 7 Trustee and administered 15,000 cases in that role. A trustee’s job is to examine a debtor’s income, expenses, and assets with precision, which is the same financial analysis courts use to evaluate an undue hardship claim or to size a Chapter 13 plan around student loan obligations. That background gives our team a practical perspective when reviewing whether a client’s numbers may support a hardship argument.

Both Richard Mayer and John Newton are board certified in consumer bankruptcy law, a credential that requires passing a written examination and demonstrating sustained, verified experience in the field. For anyone in Sevierville navigating student loan debt, that level of focused experience carries real weight when the options on the table have long-term financial consequences.

Start with a Free Consultation

When you meet with us, we review your income, expenses, and loan details to discuss whether you may qualify for a hardship discharge, whether a Chapter 13 restructuring fits your situation, and whether any forgiveness or repayment programs outside of bankruptcy are worth pursuing. Federal bankruptcy law also requires an approved credit counseling course before filing and a debtor education course after filing, and we can walk clients through both requirements as part of the process.

We charge zero legal fees to retain us for a Chapter 7 case and to start a Chapter 13 case. Our goal is to give you a clear picture of your options before you commit to any path. Call The Law Offices Of Mayer & Newton at (865) 328-7993 to schedule your free consultation today.