HOW WE HELP
Student-loan law. Plain and simple.
You don’t have to know the legal terms.
Start with what’s
happening.
Understand your options. Know the cost.
Decide how much help
you need.
Let’s untangle this.
Contacting us does not protect a court deadline, pause collection or request a hearing. Don’t wait for our reply.
See what to do nowFind the answer date on your summons. Ask the named court’s clerk how to request more time.
We defend private-loan collection suits in Missouri state court only. Elsewhere, prioritize a lawyer in your state before your answer date. Our negotiation does not defend the lawsuit or pause its deadline.
Private-loan help ↓Follow the notice’s hearing instructions, deadline and delivery address now. A timely written request can hold off a new federal administrative wage-garnishment order until a written decision.
Default & collection help ↓Follow that notice’s review instructions. The wage-garnishment hearing rule does not apply.
If you message us about a collection notice, include its date and what is being collected.
Default & collection help ↓THE WORK WE TAKE ON
Find the part that sounds like you. Open it to see what we do, what’s included and where to start on your own.
Not sure where you fit?
A sentence or two is enough.
We review your federal loan history, compare the plans available to you and file the appropriate application. If a recertification changed your payment, we check the servicer’s math against your paperwork and pursue a correction.
Parent PLUS has separate rules. Whether an income-based payment remains available depends on your loan and consolidation dates. We check eligibility, the remaining deadline and the steps needed before recommending a change. Not sure when you borrowed or consolidated? We can check your records.
Your agreement identifies which of these tasks applies and when follow-up ends.
In your message, say what you pay each month, who you pay, and whether any of it is Parent PLUS (and when it was consolidated, if you know). Not knowing your plan is fine.
We compare your payment count with your loan history, month by month. The work depends on which forgiveness program you’re pursuing.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is for qualifying government or nonprofit work. Income-driven repayment (IDR) means a repayment plan based on your income. Its forgiveness path is separate from PSLF.
We prepare employment forms, request certification from your employer, submit completed forms and follow up. Your employer certifies the employment; the government decides qualifying credit and forgiveness.
We investigate your repayment count and submit the agreed correction or forgiveness-review request. This route does not require PSLF employment forms. The government decides the credit and forgiveness.
Already approved, but not showing on your account? See servicer correction work. A disputed count and an approved correction that hasn’t posted need different follow-up.
We document the problem and agree on the channels to pursue: the servicer’s advocate office, Federal Student Aid’s ombudsman or a congressional inquiry. We make the agreed submissions and follow up on the schedule in your engagement.
The agreement defines the task, escalation steps and when follow-up ends. Any continuing work or renewal is agreed separately.
Still disputing the count itself? See forgiveness count work. This service is for an approved correction that hasn’t posted or another servicer problem.
We identify who holds your federal loans and review the garnishment or offset. We assess which default-exit route you qualify for, taking any garnishment order into account, agree on the route with you in writing and follow the application through a decision. We also represent you at a collection hearing when applicable.
Don’t wait for our reply. Sending a message does not request a hearing or pause collection. Follow the instructions, deadline and delivery address in your notice.
We check that the debt is really theirs to collect, agree your settlement range with you in writing, then negotiate with the lender or the collector. If you’re sued in Missouri state court, we also handle the lawsuit defense within the agreed scope.
We defend private-loan collection suits in Missouri state court. Anywhere else, you need a lawyer in your state before your answer date. We can negotiate the debt, but that does not pause the court’s deadline. Don’t wait for our reply to protect your deadline.
Find the answer date on your summons. Ask the named court’s clerk how to request more time. Tell us you’ve been sued; we’ll explain how to send the summons after your message.
You can come to us before you file bankruptcy or after. Your bankruptcy attorney files the bankruptcy. We handle the student loan lawsuit inside it, called an adversary proceeding, asking the court to discharge the loans. We seek reopening if the case is closed, build the hardship case and deal with the government’s lawyers or the lender’s.
Outside Missouri, I work with the court’s permission and a local attorney: your own bankruptcy attorney, or one I find.
Local counsel is built into my fee. If you haven't filed yet, your bankruptcy attorney charges separately for filing the case.
A consultation is a case assessment. It is separate from hiring us for the student-loan lawsuit.
These are typical flat fees. Complex cases cost more. Before work starts, your written agreement defines the fee, the work and when follow-up ends.
BEFORE YOU HIRE ANYONE
And that’s a good place to start.
If your loans are federal, you’re not in default and nobody is suing you, most fixes are free and you can make them yourself on StudentAid.gov. I’d rather you try that first.
Parent PLUS deserves a closer look. The rules changed in 2026. Whether a lower payment remains available depends on your loan and consolidation dates. If you don’t know them, we can check your records.
People usually hire us after a try went sideways, when a deadline or a court is involved, or when they’d rather hand the work off.
THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF HELP
You can ask whether we handle your situation, pay for an assessment, or hire us to do the agreed work.
Free
A sentence or two is plenty. We’ll email whether we handle your situation, usually within a couple of business days. If it’s urgent, say so.
A fit check by email. Separate from legal representation or a paid consultation.
Have a deadline? Don’t wait for our reply. Contacting us does not protect a court deadline, pause collection or request a hearing. Read the deadline guidance.
Send a free message
$200 / 20 minutes
$450
/ 50 minutes
A video call with Stanley. Send what you have—your StudentAid.gov file, servicer or lender letters, a summons, or bankruptcy papers. I read them first.
You leave knowing where you stand and what to do next, whether or not you hire us. After the call, I email you a recap the same day.
Cancel more than 24 hours before the consult for a full refund.
Have a deadline? Don’t wait for our reply. Contacting us does not protect a court deadline, pause collection or request a hearing. Read the deadline guidance.
Book a paid consultationAn agreed flat fee
Typically $850 to $9,000, depending on the work. Complex cases cost more. The written agreement sets the fee, work and endpoint before we start.
Then we handle the agreed filings, follow-up and court work when there is any.
Plan-enrollment support lasts for the agreement’s twelve-month term. Other follow-up ends as defined in your agreement.
See fees by serviceWHERE WE CAN HELP
We handle administrative federal student-loan work nationwide, including for borrowers abroad. I’m licensed in Missouri.
Bankruptcy outside Missouri: court permission and local counsel are required. Local counsel is included in the student-loan litigation fee. A separate bankruptcy attorney files the bankruptcy petition and charges separately.
Private collection lawsuit defense: Missouri state court only. Outside Missouri, we can offer negotiation, which does not pause the court deadline.
It depends on who has to act. Most of the waiting belongs to the servicer, the Department or the court. You'll get a realistic timeline in the consult.
No, and be careful with anyone who does. I'll tell you what I think your odds are and why.
Yes. We don't file bankruptcy petitions (your bankruptcy attorney does, and we handle the student loan discharge inside the case). We don't take borrower defense claims. And we don't refinance loans or arrange new ones.