Discharging student loans in bankruptcy is very difficult to do. Provisions for discharging student loans in bankruptcy were changed in 1998. The bankruptcy court has to rule that repayment would cause undue hardship for you or your dependents. According to the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman (FSAO) Web site:
The court uses a three-pronged test to determine hardship:
--- If you were forced to repay the loan, you would not be able to maintain a minimal standard of living.
--- There is evidence that this hardship will continue for a significant portion of the loan repayment period.
--- You made good-faith efforts to repay the loan before filing bankruptcy (usually this means you have been in repayment for a minimum of five years).