1. If Jones had been unable to work due to illness or injury, would that be sufficient to meet the “undue hardship” standard set out by the court?

2. Note that one court did not find undue hardship enough to discharge student loans for a “46-year-old part-time legal secretary, raising her 14-year-old child and living with her sister, and who had psychiatric problems and had twice attempted suicide”. Why would Congress and courts be reluctant to allow the discharge of student loans without meeting this difficult test?

At age 52, Jones held a bachelor’s degree, a J.D. (although he failed to pass the bar examination), and two master’s degrees. He borrowed heavily for his education and, at the time of the bankruptcy petition, had defaulted on 18 student loans worth $140,000 of debt. Although Jones’s undergraduate and law school debts were discharged in a previous bankruptcy hearing, he argued that to pay the remaining debt would cause him “undue hardship,” and asked the court to discharge the loan.