Student-loan debt is pushing an increasing number of young people and their parents toward bankruptcy, according to a survey released Tuesday.
More than four-fifths of bankruptcy attorneys say they’ve seen a notable jump in the number of potential clients with student-loan debt in the last few years, with nearly half the lawyers reporting a significant increase in such cases, according to the survey by the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
Nearly one-quarter of the attorneys surveyed say the number of potential student-loan clients have risen 50% to 100%, while another 39% of lawyers report spikes of 25% to 50%.
Student debt is rising for obvious reasons: steadily spiraling college costs, financial-aid cutbacks at public universities and a stubbornly weak economy that’s making it difficult for graduates to find jobs.