Boston Student Loan Lawyer - Law Office of Adam S. Minsky

8 Big Ideas to Fix Student Loans

November 25, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles

There is currently $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loan debt. That figure has nearly doubled over the course of the past 10 years. 44 million Americans carry student loan debt, and one in four of those borrowers are struggling with their payments. Millions of student loan borrowers are putting off critical life decisions such as home purchases, marriage, having children, and saving for retirement.

The scope of the problem is only aggravated further by a sprawling and dysfunctional student loan system, skyrocketing higher education costs, uniquely restrictive rights and options for borrowers, and poor government oversight.

Can the system be fixed? Yes. Here’s how.

Student Loan Attorney Adam S. Minsky Selected as a “Super Lawyer” for Fifth Year

October 21, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles

Student loan lawyer Adam S. Minsky has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer “Rising Star” for the fifth year in a row. The designation is awarded only to the top 2.5% of attorneys in Massachusetts, and it reflects Attorney Minsky’s ongoing work helping student loan borrowers and their families.

Attorney Minsky started his practice nearly nine years ago with a mission to defend, protect, and advocate for people saddled with student loan debt. Since then, he has battled student loan servicers, debt collection agencies, and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, and he has helped people navigate the confusing and often predatory student loan system.

In the past several years, Attorney Minsky expanded his student loan practice to New York, published several student loan guidebooks, became a contributing writer to Forbes, and has travelled the country training other professionals to help student loan borrowers.

This year, Attorney Minsky presented to financial planners in New York City, to attorneys in Miami and New Hampshire, and to AmeriCorps service members in Massachusetts. He was quoted in The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Boston Globe. Next month, Attorney Minsky will be presenting at the National Consumer Law Center’s Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Boston.

Attorney Minsky’s name will be published in Boston magazine and Super Lawyers magazine.

Who is MEFA – Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority?

August 14, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Current Events Default Private Student Loans

There has been a surge in new collections lawsuits in Massachusetts against student loan borrowers during the past year. Based on what I’m seeing on the ground, the majority of these suits are being initiated by one entity: an organization called the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, also known as MEFA.

Where the 2020 Presidential Candidates Stand on Student Debt

August 12, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles

The 2020 presidential primary elections are ramping up, and student loan debt has become one of the most important issues on the campaign trail. But the candidates for the Democratic nomination have dramatically different views on how to solve the student loan crisis. Some are calling for widespread student loan cancellation, while others want to streamline and fix some of the current, broken student loan programs. Others want to create new, targeted paths to student loan forgiveness and cancellation.

6 Ways to Beat Student Loan Default

June 17, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Default Loan Forgiveness Private Student Loans Student Loans 101

Defaulting on student loans can be terrifying, damaging, and costly. Federal student loan lenders have enormously powerful tools to pursue student loan borrowers in default. For example, the federal government and federally-backed guaranty agencies can garnish a borrower’s wages, offset a borrower’s Social Security benefits, and intercept a borrower’s tax refund, all without a court order. Private student loan lenders don’t always have the same powers, but they can file lawsuits against borrowers in state courts, and then try to attach assets to satisfy any resulting judgments. Defaulting on both private and federal loans can lead to financial penalties and significant credit damage, as well.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Borrowers in default on their student loans have legal rights and options. And they may ultimately have the ability to fix their defaulted student loans.

Updates on Public Service Loan Forgiveness

June 14, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Current Events Loan Forgiveness Policy & Reform

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a popular program that millions of student loan borrowers are depending on. PSLF provides for complete forgiveness of federal student loans after 120 “qualifying payments.” A qualifying payment is one made on a Direct federal student loan under an income-driven repayment plan or the 10-year Standard plan, while working full-time for a qualifying employer (typically a public entity or 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization).

The program has been a hot topic lately, especially in these polarized political times. It can be difficult to stay on top of the latest developments. Here’s where things stand.

FAQ For Elizabeth Warren’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

May 20, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Current Events Loan Forgiveness Policy & Reform Taxes

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is running for President and has announced a major proposal to forgive a massive amount of student loan debt. Here’s everything you need to know.

Does the proposal cancel all student loans?

No, but it would effectively forgive most student loans. Warren’s proposal would allow for a maximum student loan forgiveness benefit of $50,000 per borrower. The average college graduate leaves school with between $30,000 and $40,000 in student loan debt, so many borrowers would see most or all of their student loans forgiven.

Who would be eligible for student loan forgiveness?

The Department of Ed Must Fix Its Broken Default System

April 18, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles

U.S. Dept. of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

This week, Attorney Adam S. Minsky led a coalition of attorneys and consumer advocacy organizations, along with the National Consumer Law Center, to demand that U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos take immediate steps to address the ongoing, unprecedented, and systemwide problems and delays currently plaguing its default servicing system. Below is the full text of the letter sent to the Dept. of Education.

April 15, 2019

The Honorable Betsy DeVos
U.S. Secretary of Education
400 Maryland Ave S.W.
Washington, DC 20202

Re: Harm to Defaulted Borrowers as a Result of System Wide Staffing Shortage

Dear Secretary DeVos:

New Report Details Student Loan Servicing Failures

March 19, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Current Events Default Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness

A stunning new report has just come out describing ongoing and systemwide failures by federal student loan servicing companies to manage student loan accounts. The report blames both the servicers themselves and the U.S. Department of Education for its failure to hold these servicing companies accountable for their actions. Remarkably, the report was issued and released by the U.S. Department of Education itself.

New Student Loan Protections Are Coming

February 18, 2019 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Current Events For-Profit Colleges Policy & Reform

The legal landscape of student loan servicing and for-profit schools is a bit like the Wild Wild West right now. There aren’t a whole lot of rules and oversight, and unfair and deceptive practices towards student loan borrowers are fairly widespread. And in our federal legal system, where we have parallel government structures at the federal and the state level, we are seeing a major divergence in prioritizing student loan borrower protections.

One the one hand, the federal government has been actively undermining the few student loan protections that had already existed. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded Obama-era guidance that was intended to incentivize better treatment of student loan borrowers by servicers, and her administration has been trying to gut student loan forgiveness protections available to people who were defrauded by their schools. At the same time, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has, under new leadership, effectively decimated its student loan oversight unit. Suffice it to say, right now the federal government is not doing much of anything to protect student loan borrowers.

But at the same, states are stepping in. State attorney general’s office are playing a big role in advocating for student loan borrowers by bringing lawsuits against servicers such as Navient and FedLoan Servicing. And state legislatures have also been stepping up and trying to pass new legislation that offers protections for borrowers at the state level. A handful of states have already passed state-level “bills of rights” specific to student loan borrowers. And more may be coming.