![\"Student](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/StudentLoansBankruptcy_675.png\")
<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tFinancial Planning for Your Student Loans<\/p>\n
8.14.2026<\/p>\n
By Rebecca Melnitsky<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Repaying student loans is just one part of the larger picture of financial planning.<\/p>\n
The New York State Bar Association hosted a seminar discussing the strategies for building solid finances while making payments, and the many factors that affect student loans. More than 170 people attended the program.<\/p>\n
The panel of financial experts included:<\/p>\n
Renee Kuperman, bankruptcy and restructuring attorney.
\nGeoff Urquhart, CEO of Sharp Notions and co-founder of GradFin, a student loan advisory platform.
\nMykole Santiago, associate at Prosperian Wealth Management and financial representative at Strategies for Wealth.<\/p>\n
Marcella Jayne, chair of the association\u2019s Young Lawyers Section, moderated the discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, this event will equip you all to have some additional strategies, or some additional ways of thinking of how to address your personal student debt,\u201d said Jayne. \u201cI don\u2019t want to pretend that this isn\u2019t a structural problem. It is a structural problem that\u2019s going to require advocacy and policy changes in order to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jayne added that attorneys are welcome to reach out to her if they want to advocate for change and are interested in more section programming related to student loans.<\/p>\n
The speakers said that student loans are one part of a person\u2019s financial picture and should be accounted for alongside savings and planning for the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say, I have debt, I can\u2019t save, I can\u2019t invest, I can\u2019t put money into retirement,\u201d said Santiago. \u201cBecause when you\u2019re done paying debt, what did you build during the meantime? So make sure that you\u2019re taking care of different aspects at the same time. Revise your plan. You\u2019re not going to create a 30-year plan, you\u2019re going to create 30 one-year plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santiago said that revising one\u2019s financial plan is important as attorneys progress through their career and circumstances change.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get a new job, you get a raise, you get married, you have a child, you buy a home, you become a partner,\u201d said Santiago. \u201cAll of those things are triggers to make sure that you are revising the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santiago also warned against lifestyle creep, or spending on expenses as one\u2019s income increases. She advised setting aside a set amount into a separate account for savings and investments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one key thing that everyone should take away from this is that the student loan strategy and repayment strategy is really part of a broader financial plan,\u201d said Urquhart. \u201cAnd everybody\u2019s situation is unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
For example, he advised students who plan to start law school right after finishing their undergraduate degrees to file their taxes even if they had no income. This reduces interest on repayments \u2013 albeit it depends on the plan and changes to federal policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlanning for that repayment post-graduation is becoming more and more important while you\u2019re in school,\u201d Urquhart said.<\/p>\n
Kuperman discussed what happens to a person\u2019s student loan debt when they declare bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
\u201cBankruptcy isn\u2019t necessarily the first option, but it is an option that is available,\u201d said Kuperman. \u201cThe main question everyone wants to know is: Can student loans actually be discharged in bankruptcy? It\u2019s not an easy answer. It is possible. It\u2019s not easy, and it\u2019s not a given, but they do receive special treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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