Los Angeles Student Loan Debt Lawyer
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that helps people across Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and the rest of Los Angeles County deal with student loan debt alongside the other obligations pressing on their budgets. Our team also serves clients in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. A Los Angeles student loan debt lawyer is often hired not because the borrower has one clear problem, but because several are stacking up: a defaulted federal loan, a private lender that has sued, a paycheck under threat, and credit cards that are being paid only because the loan payment cannot be.
Student loans are the one category of consumer debt where the answer is rarely “just file bankruptcy” and rarely “nothing can be done.” The decisions that matter most come early: whether the loan is federal or private, whether it is in default or a lawsuit has been filed, whether the other debts in your life should be dealt with first, and whether a bankruptcy filing would help the student loan indirectly even if the loan itself survives. Getting that order of operations right can change what you pay for years.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Student Loan Debt Help
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families resolve debt. The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, and the team carries more than 90 years of combined legal experience. That breadth matters for student loans because the loan is almost never the only debt. We handle Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, IRS tax debt, credit card debt, and personal loans, so the recommendation you get reflects your whole financial picture rather than the only service a firm happens to sell.
Raj Wadhwani, founding shareholder and partner, is a Southwestern Law School graduate who helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software in 1998 and was the first attorney to file a bankruptcy case electronically in the Central District of California. Greg Shanfeld, founding shareholder and partner, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
You get direct access to an attorney from your first call, a free consultation, and the option to handle everything by phone, email, video, or online chat, including 100% virtual consultations. When a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, we act quickly. Our Los Angeles bankruptcy attorneys give plain-English answers, including when bankruptcy is not the right tool.
Student Loan Situations We See and What Each Calls For
- Defaulted federal loans: Default usually follows an extended period of missed payments, and it can bring collection pressure that ordinary consumer debts do not. The right response depends on your income, your household, and whether the loan can be brought back into good standing or handled through a payment structure you can sustain.
- Private student loans in collections: Private lenders and the collection firms that buy their accounts rely on the courts rather than administrative tools. Whether the debt is still collectible, whether the suit is properly brought, and whether the amount claimed is accurate are all questions worth asking before you respond.
- Lawsuits and judgments over student debt: A private student loan is a written contract, and California generally allows four years to sue on a written contract. That deadline is a defense you must raise in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment against you.
- Wage garnishment after a judgment: Once a creditor holds a judgment, it can seek to take a share of your paycheck. The amount is capped by a formula tied to your disposable earnings and the minimum wage, and you can ask the court to protect the portion you need to support yourself and your family.
- Student loans plus credit cards and medical bills: Many borrowers keep paying a student loan by letting other debts go. Eliminating those unsecured debts in Chapter 7 can free income that makes a student loan manageable.
- Student loans alongside a mortgage or car loan: When you are behind on a home or vehicle, Chapter 13 can stop foreclosure or repossession and spread the arrears over time while you address the student loan separately.
- Student loans and IRS tax debt: Borrowers juggling both need a coordinated plan, because a tax levy and a loan collection effort can drain the same paycheck.
What to Do When Student Loan Collection Is Closing In
Start by finding out exactly what kind of loan you have and who holds it. Federal and private student loans follow different rules, and nearly every strategy depends on which one you are dealing with. Gather your loan statements, any default or collection letters, and anything that arrived from a court. If you have been sued, note the date you were served. A written response to the complaint is due on a short clock, and missing it invites a default judgment.
Do not make a payment or sign anything just to make a collector go away before you understand what it does. In California, a payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, and only a signed written acknowledgment can restart the limitations period, but a casual conversation with a collector can still cause confusion, so be careful what you agree to.
If a lawsuit is filed in Los Angeles County, it is heard in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which is divided into twelve geographic districts. The Central District, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, handles many cases, while others go to courthouses in places like Van Nuys, Torrance, Norwalk, Pasadena, Santa Monica, or Lancaster depending on where you live. Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties have their own superior courts for suits filed there.
Bankruptcy cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and the division depends on your home zip code. Los Angeles County residents may fall under the Los Angeles Division or the San Fernando Valley Division in Woodland Hills, with Orange County handled in Santa Ana and Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in Riverside. We confirm the correct division before filing.
If a garnishment or bank levy is imminent, the automatic stay that begins the moment a bankruptcy petition is filed halts most collection activity, including lawsuits, garnishments, and levies. That is often the fastest way to stop the bleeding while you decide on a longer-term plan.
How Bankruptcy Interacts With Student Loans
Student loans are generally not wiped out in an ordinary bankruptcy discharge, and we say so plainly. That does not make bankruptcy irrelevant. Chapter 7 can eliminate credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and deficiency balances, which often removes the pressure that forced you to neglect the student loan. Chapter 13 can consolidate your obligations into one affordable plan over three to five years while you keep your property.
Bankruptcy also stops the collection tools that grow out of student loan default: lawsuits, judgments, bank levies, and garnishments. For many clients the benefit is breathing room, followed by a realistic repayment arrangement that fits what is left after the other debts are resolved.
Exemptions matter too. California does not use the federal exemptions; filers choose between two state systems, one with a substantial homestead exemption suited to homeowners and another with a flexible wildcard that often works better for renters. You pick one system for the entire case, and you generally must have lived in California long enough to use its exemptions. Choosing correctly protects your home, vehicle, and savings while you restructure.
Student Loan Questions Answered
Can student loans be discharged in bankruptcy?
Generally not in an ordinary case. Most student loans survive a discharge, which is why the strategy usually focuses on eliminating your other debts and stopping collection while arranging a workable approach to the loan. We review your specific loans before advising you.
What is the difference between federal and private student loans for collection purposes?
Federal loans carry repayment structures and collection tools tied to the government, while private lenders must go through the courts and prove their case. That difference shapes every option, so identifying the loan type is the first task in any consultation.
How long can a private lender wait before suing me?
For a written contract, California generally allows four years to bring suit, and oral contracts get two. The expired deadline is a defense you must actually raise in your written answer; the court will not apply it automatically.
Does making a payment restart the clock on an old debt?
No. Under California law a payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, and only a signed written acknowledgment of the debt restarts the limitations period. Even so, talk to an attorney before communicating with a collector about an old account.
Can a student loan creditor garnish my wages?
After obtaining a judgment, a private creditor can seek a wage garnishment. On an ordinary judgment, the amount is limited to the lesser of 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings or 40 percent of the amount your weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. Different pay periods use different multiples, and if the local minimum wage is higher than the state’s, the local rate is used.
Can I protect part of my paycheck from garnishment?
Yes. A judgment debtor can ask the court to exempt the portion of earnings shown to be necessary to support the debtor or the debtor’s family. You must make that claim, so do not ignore the paperwork when it arrives.
Can my employer fire me because of a garnishment?
California law bars an employer from firing an employee because wages are garnished for a single judgment. If you are concerned about workplace retaliation, tell us.
Will filing bankruptcy stop a student loan lawsuit?
Filing triggers the automatic stay, which halts most lawsuits, judgments, garnishments, and levies as soon as the petition is filed. The stay does not erase the loan, but it freezes collection while we pursue a longer-term solution.
Is my bank account at risk if a creditor levies it?
A judgment creditor can levy a bank account, though California automatically protects a set amount of the deposits per judgment debtor without you filing a claim. That protection has exceptions, including levies for child or spousal support and debts owed to the state, and the amount adjusts over time.
How long does a student loan judgment last in California?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry and can generally be renewed. For personal debt judgments under a certain principal amount, recent reforms allow only one renewal, for five years. A judgment that has aged out or been improperly renewed is worth reviewing with counsel.
Could a collector be violating the law when it contacts me?
Possibly. California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, an additional $100 to $1,000 where a violation was willful and knowing, and reasonable attorney fees if successful. A suit must be brought within one year, so timing matters.
Should I hire a lawyer before answering a student loan lawsuit?
Ideally yes, and before your response deadline passes. A lawyer can tell you whether to answer, negotiate, or file bankruptcy, and can raise defenses such as the statute of limitations that a court will not raise for you.
Serving Student Loan Borrowers Across Los Angeles and Southern California
We represent clients throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding communities of Los Angeles County, including Hollywood, Inglewood, Compton, Torrance, Long Beach, Lakewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. In the San Fernando Valley and on the Westside, we work with borrowers in Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, Sylmar, and Santa Monica, along with Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Our reach extends into the Inland Empire and the eastern San Gabriel Valley, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. In Orange County, we help clients in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel. Wherever you live, you can handle your case by phone, email, video, or online chat.
Talk With a Los Angeles Student Loan Debt Attorney Today
You do not have to sort out loans, lawsuits, and garnishments on your own timeline or a collector’s. A Los Angeles student loan debt attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your loans, your other debts, and any papers you have been served with, then tell you honestly which path makes sense. Call for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney about stopping collection and building a plan you can sustain.
