Nardi & Nardi, P.A.

Nardi & Nardi, P.A. Law firm specializing in legal matters regarding bankruptcy and personal injury. Perry M. Nardi has also been in practice for nearly two decades.

At the Orlando, Florida law firm of Nardi & Nardi, P.A., we give our clients personal attention with an eye toward using the legal tools available to resolve their issues as quickly and easily as possible. Our legal practice areas include divorce and family law issues such as child custody and paternity, as well as personal bankruptcy, workers' compensation, and personal injury and wrongful death

claims. Attorney Mary Nardi has been practicing law for nearly 20 years and is certified as a family mediator by the Florida Supreme Court. She is also an adjunct professor at Valencia Community College in Orlando and regularly volunteers for Legal Aid and as an attorney for children in the foster care system. Formerly an insurance defense attorney, he is an experienced trial lawyer with valuable insight and experience. He is also a former commercial instrument pilot with a degree in aeronautics. At Nardi & Nardi, we consider our clients to be part of our extended family. We make our office welcoming and treat our clients with true personal attention and concern. We have an open-door policy and we return your calls promptly — in person. Contact us today to discuss your case.

01/03/2025

Student Loan forgiveness TRUMP style.

1) In his fiscal year 2017 budget proposal, Trump suggested consolidating multiple income-driven repayment (IDR) plans into one.

Under that proposal, monthly payments were to be capped at 12.5% of discretionary income, compared to the 10% required under some existing plans or the 5% discretionary income for undergraduate loans that applies under the SAVE plan, which is on hold due to litigation.

Trump also proposed extending the loan forgiveness timeline for graduate loan borrowers to 30 years while shortening it to 15 years for undergraduate borrowers.

2)Student Loan Forgiveness Timeline Could Change

Currently, income-driven repayment plans offer forgiveness after 20 to 25 years of consistent payments. Trump’s plan might reduce this timeline to just 15 years for undergraduate borrowers.

However, graduate loans may face stricter terms or extended repayment periods. These shifts could mean significant changes to how borrowers plan for their financial futures, particularly for those just starting their repayment journeys.

3) Public Service Loan Forgiveness Faces Uncertainty

Recently, the Biden administration announced 55,000 additional borrowers would receive forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which eliminates federal student debt for those working in public service roles for 10 years.

Forgiveness would require an act of Congress, and it’s unclear if such a repeal could pass. A previous attempt during Trump’s first term didn’t gain traction and would have grandfathered in current borrowers.

If PSLF is changed or eliminated, public service workers—such as teachers and healthcare professionals—could be impacted significantly, potentially positively.

4)The Debate Over Private vs. Federal Loans Intensifies

Trump’s administration may push for more privatization of the student loan industry, reducing federal loan options. This could mean fewer protections for borrowers, like deferment and forbearance.

If federal loans are replaced or minimized, private lenders may gain a larger market share, offering less flexible repayment options. Borrowers considering private loans should carefully compare interest rates and terms before making decisions.

Flipside - currently private student loans are dischargeable in Bankruptcy but Federal student loans are not.

5) Interest Rates and Loan Caps May Shift

Interest rates and borrowing limits for federal loans are another potential change area. Trump’s administration has floated the idea of simplifying federal loan programs, which could affect how much students can borrow and the rates they pay.

A borrowing cap might encourage more students to take out private loans, potentially increasing overall costs. Students and parents should closely monitor these changes and evaluate how they could impact college affordability.

What can borrowers do now.

While the future of student loan forgiveness under Trump remains uncertain, borrowers should stay proactive. They should review repayment plans, consider consolidating loans, and monitor federal updates.

Take steps now to strengthen your financial position, such as building an emergency fund or seeking professional financial advice. Understanding how potential changes could impact your debt is the first step to protecting your financial future.

By staying informed and planning ahead, you can navigate these changes and minimize the impact of student loan changes on your finances.

10/29/2024

More student-loan borrowers are taking advantage of an updated route to get rid of their debt in bankruptcy court.

The Biden administration released new guidance in 2022 on discharging student loans in bankruptcy.

New data obtained by some lawmakers shows more student-loan borrowers taking advantage of that new process.

Elizabeth Warren led some of her colleagues in calling for bolstered outreach on the bankruptcy process.

That standard had been very difficult to meet for years, which is why the Biden administration released new guidance in November 2022 to streamline the process. The guidance included clearer guidelines borrowers could follow to prove undue hardship, along with a self-attestation form that allowed the Education and Justice Departments to process borrowers' requests faster without investigations

The lawmakers also found that 85% of borrowers taking advantage of the new guidance received either a full or partial discharge of their balances

Lawmakers have also introduced legislation to make the bankruptcy process easier for student-loan borrowers. On September 30, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler reintroduced the Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2024, which would remove the undue hardship requirement to reduce the legal burden on borrowers.

10/02/2024

I would like to thank all of you who sent well wishes on my birthday. My only regret is that I couldn't spend it with all of you. Thanks again.

10/02/2024

The grace period for student loan payments is over. Here's what you need to know

The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on Sept. 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score.

“The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are not able to make payments,” said Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.

With the on-ramp period and a separate program known as Fresh Start ending and the SAVE plan on hold, student loan borrowers who are struggling to afford their monthly payments have fewer options. Student loan borrowers who haven't been able to afford their monthly payments must consider their options to avoid going into default.

If you have student loans, here’s what you need to know.

What was the on-ramp period?
The Education Department implemented this grace period to ease the borrower’s transition to make payments after a three-year payment pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this year-long period, borrowers were encouraged to keep making
payments since interest continued to accumulate.

“Normally, loans will default if you fall about nine months behind on making payments, but during this on-ramp period, missed payments would not move people towards defaulting and then being subject to forced collections. However, if you missed payments, you still be falling behind ultimately on repaying your loans," said Abby Shaforth, director of National Consumer Law Center's Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.

Since this grace period has ended, student loan borrowers who don't make payments will go delinquent or, if their loans are not paid for nine months, go into default.

Borrowers who cannot afford to make payments can apply for deferment or forbearance, which pause payments, though interest continues to accrue.

What happens if I don't make my payments?
Borrowers who can’t or don’t pay risk delinquency and eventually default. That can badly hurt your credit rating and make you ineligible for additional aid and government benefits.

Once a loan is in default, it goes into collections. This means the government can garnish wages (without a court order) to go towards paying back the loan, intercept tax refunds, and seize portions of Social Security checks and other benefit payments.

Maybe it's time for that Bankruptcy consultation. Give me a call Maybe I can help 407- 478 - 0074.

09/18/2024

You need to start paying your student debt. No, really.

Time’s nearly up for federal student loan borrowers to start repaying or else face credit score consequences soon.

“To protect the most vulnerable borrowers,” President Joe Biden last year offered a 12-month “on-ramp” to repayment “so that financially vulnerable borrowers who miss monthly payments during this period are not considered delinquent, reported to credit bureaus, placed in default, or referred to debt collection agencies.”
That on-ramp is set to expire on Sept. 30, and anyone who doesn’t begin making payments in October risks a hit to their credit score.
Good credit scores are vital because they determine whether you can get a loan and what you’ll pay in interest for that loan. They’re also used to determine many other things in your life. For example, insurers might use credit scores to set your premiums, landlords might use them to decide if they’ll rent to you, and banks can look at them to determine what sort of credit card you can get and on what terms.

09/10/2024

Is It time for a consultation?

One in five Americans with student loans has never made a payment toward their debt, a new survey revealed.

A wide-ranging poll showed that a fifth of student loan borrowers (20 percent) say they have not yet made any payments, with many saying they can't afford to during the cost-of-living crisis. Of these respondents, some are hopeful that loan forgiveness plans may be available to them in the future.

The survey suggests that lower-income borrowers are being hit particularly hard, with 65 percent of those earning less than $50,000 in household income saying they cannot afford their student loan payments

Even some higher earners say they are struggling: 40 percent of student loan borrowers say they are trapped because they make too much money to qualify for the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan but not enough to afford to pay off their student debt.

The Biden administration's SAVE Plan, a repayment program that could also offer loan forgiveness for millions of Americans, is currently on hold following a Republican backlash. The Supreme Court is due to give a final decision on the plan, although that is not expected until next summer at the earliest.

While it's great to have hope in potential loan forgiveness, borrowers should not put all their eggs in that basket. Those struggling to make their student loan payments should reach out to their loan servicer to understand their options, whether that be forbearance, deferment, or a more affordable repayment plan." Or contact a Bankruptcy Attorney and talk about that option.

09/06/2024

Some student loan borrowers face credit score risks as ‘on-ramp’ ends September 30

Borrowers with federal student loans who have missed making their monthly payments on time, or even skipped making payments, need to know that their credit report could get hit if they keep doing what they're doing.

For the past year, struggling borrowers have had a breather from bad credit reports. But that break — which has a quirky title known as a "student loan on-ramp" — ends Sept. 30 when student loan servicers will resume reporting missed or incomplete payments to credit agencies. A key point: Interest continued to accrue during the forbearance. As a result, your monthly payments now might be higher as a result of added interest.

Serious consequences kick back into action for borrowers who miss or delay making their federal student loan payments in October and later. They're looking at getting hit with a delinquency notation on credit reports, and possible decreases to their credit scores.

Kristen Holt, president and CEO of Farmington Hills-based GreenPath Financial Wellness, is recommending applying for a federal income-based repayment plan if your financial situation makes it hard to make federal student loan payments. Some options exist for those dealing with unaffordable federal student loan payments.

09/01/2024

STUDENT LOAN LENIENCY IS ENDING SOON

A repayment grace period rolled out by President Joe Biden is set to conclude at the end of September, smack in the middle of a contentious presidential election.Its end will likely squeeze millions of wallets across the US, given more than 40 million Americans have federal student debt.

Many of the most recent student-loan policies and programs were created through executive action, meaning a change in the Oval Office could have dramatic effects. Student Loan borrowers got a reprieve during the Covid-19 pandemic when the government paused mandatory payments.Repayments restarted last October after a three-year pause, but the Biden administration simultaneously introduced a one-year leniency program for those struggling with their debt. While interest still accrued during the period, borrowers who missed payments weren’t considered delinquent, reported to credit bureaus or placed in default. They also weren’t referred to debt collection agencies, and the accrued interest wasn’t added back to principal of their loans. Those are the benefits slated to end on Sept. 30.

Here is what to do now. Make sure you know how to contact your servicer, which may have changed during the pandemic. The sooner you check your loan balance and weigh your options for repayment, the sooner you can apply for a program to help alleviate the burden if you need one.

Scott Buchanan, executive director of the interest group Student Loan Servicing Alliance, said he expects to see delinquency rates rise much the way they do for recent graduates, who typically begin paying their debt back six months after leaving school.

08/30/2024

THE LATEST ON STUDENT LOANS AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The chaos is ramping up just as a pandemic-era freeze on defaulted student debt collections is set to end on October 1.

This week’s Supreme Court order is only the latest development in what has already been a monthslong legal battle that began when two lawsuits were filed by Republican-led states earlier this year.

Now, borrowers must wait for the 8th Circuit Court to rule on the merits of the states’ case before they know how much their student loan payments will be going forward.
The St. Louis-based appeals court is stacked with appointees of Republican presidents, with only one of its active judges having been placed on the court by a Democratic president.

Here is what you need to know: The roughly 8 million borrowers currently enrolled in SAVE have been placed in an interest-free forbearance during which they are not required to make monthly student loan payments.

The pause on payments is good news for most of the impacted borrowers. But it could potentially delay student loan forgiveness for some of them.

That’s because the time in forbearance will not count toward the number of payments required to be eligible for debt relief under programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Under that plan, eligible public-sector workers can see their remaining student loan debt wiped away after making 120 qualifying monthly payments.

Some borrowers may be eligible to “buy back” months of PSLF credit for time spent in forbearance as a result of the court’s administrative stay. More information about that process can be found on the Federal Student Aid website.

The federal government offers several other repayment plans, though SAVE offers the most generous terms for low-income borrowers. In addition to SAVE, there are other income-driven plans that also tie monthly payments to a borrower’s income and household size — which can reduce how much a borrower owes every month.

But currently, student loan servicers have paused processing applications for other kinds of income-driven repayment plans as a result of the 8th Circuit Court’s temporary block on SAVE.

While student loan borrowers can still apply by submitting a PDF, the Department of Education said on its website that they “should expect a lengthy delay in processing applications.”

The pause on application processing could cause problems for recent college graduates who will enter repayment this fall. For now, these borrowers may be stuck with automatic enrollment in the standard 10-year plan that requires higher monthly payments than an income-driven plan that they must apply for.

In court documents, the government’s lawyers have said that the court’s block on the SAVE plan could potentially keep the Department of Education from providing debt relief available to borrowers through other income-driven plans.

There are roughly 2.6 million borrowers in the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan and the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan who could be impacted. Those plans provide student loan forgiveness for borrowers who have made monthly payments for at least 20 years.

The 8th Circuit Court denied the government’s request to clarify what exactly is impacted by the temporary block.

“The Eighth Circuit’s refusal to clarify the injunction makes clear that it reaches even further, blocking forgiveness under the original ICR plan and the PAYE plan as well,” the government’s lawyers wrote in a court filing.

08/13/2024

Forgiveness update

Some federal student loan borrowers’ payments are now on pause while a court battle plays out over the Biden administration’s latest student loan forgiveness plan, with a recent court ruling pausing all forgiveness entirely—and the Supreme Court set to weigh in imminently on how things will go from here.
Borrowers whose loans are paused during the court dispute won’t accrue interest while they’re in forbearance, according to the Education Department. Any time spent in forbearance also won’t count toward loan forgiveness on income-driven repayment plans or for public servants. SAVE plan borrowers who have already received a bill for August are still being put in forbearance, which means paying it isn’t required, the agency noted, and borrowers who haven’t yet received a bill for August won’t receive one. The Education Department said it will provide “regular updates” to borrowers on the court dispute.
Borrowers’ loans will remain in forbearance for now while the court battles play out. It’s unclear when the Supreme Court could rule on the request to either take up the student loan case for oral argument or reject the program outright. If it takes up the case, it would be heard during the court’s next term, which begins in October, and the court would release its opinion sometime before the term ends in June 2025.

08/07/2024

Student Loan update

Last week, the Education department announced it would be sending emails to all student-loan borrowers with at least one outstanding federal loan to update them on President Joe Biden's plan to cancel student debt using the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Expected to benefit over 30 million borrowers, the plan would cancel some or all student debt for:

Borrowers who owed more than they did when they first entered repayment
Borrowers who entered repayment at least 20 years ago
Borrowers who would be eligible for forgiveness through programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment but haven't yet applied
And borrowers who attended schools that left them with too much debt compared to post-graduation earnings.
The emails sent last week also specified an August 30 deadline for borrowers to opt out of the relief by contacting their servicers. They might choose to opt-out for a number of reasons, including avoiding potential state tax liabilities.

07/19/2024

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO PAUSE PAYMENTS

The U.S. Department of Education says it will pause millions of student loan borrowers payments while it defends its relief plan against legal challenges.
Borrowers enrolled in the Biden administration's new repayment plan, known as SAVE, will be placed "in an interest-free forbearance," according to a statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

Address

1059 Maitland Center Commons Boulevard
Maitland, FL
32751

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

(407)4780074

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Nardi & Nardi, P.A. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Nardi & Nardi, P.A.:

Shortcuts

Share

Category