Do I qualify for an automatic discharge?

This is directed to anyone who might know.

I declared bankruptcy on Sept 26th, 2006 and was discharged on June 26th of the following year.  At the time of filing, the waiting period for student loans was still 10 years, so my loans were not included on my bankruptcy.  It was changed to 7 years one day after my discharge.

My study end date to which my last student loan applies is April 19th, 1999.  My ten-year mark would have been April 19th, 2009.  My seven year mark was April 19th, 2006.

At the time of filing I was advised by my trustee that the laws may about to be changed and, if that were the case (which obviously happened) I could apply to have my loans added retroactively to my bankruptcy.  When the time came around to do finally give it a try, I was told by my trustee that it wasn't guaranteed and it would cost me around $700 to have them handle it for me.  Shelling out 700 bucks for something that might not be successful didn't sound like a very good deal to someone with three little ones coming off of a bankruptcy.  I've since learned that this is something I can do myself through a hardship application.  When I asked my trustee about this, they told me to go to my local courthouse and find an application, and then stopped responding to my e-mails entirely (of course) leaving me completely in the dark as to what the process entails.

I have no clue who my federal/provincial student loan creditors are.  I am never hassled, called or mailed.  The only thing that reminds me I even have an outstanding loan is the loss of my tax return every year, which is taken by the government to handle an "outstanding debt".  They have been doing this since 2001 without fail, except for 2008, for some reason, when my refund was deposited into my bank account. It was taken again for this "outstanding debt" in 2009, and I imagine it will be again this year. 

There is no indication on my credit histories from TransUnion and Equifax that I've ever had a student loan, and I can apply and obtain credit without any problem pretty much anywhere that doesn't mind financing someone with a bankruptcy on their credit history.

Here are my questions:

What I'm really wondering first, is if I need to even do go the hardship route?  My bankruptcy date now falls after the new 7-year mark from my last date of study (April 19th, 2006), my discharge date falls just before the new law went into force... exactly 1 day before, on July 6th, 2007.

Am I getting scammed and losing my tax returns unnecessarily?

If I do qualify for an automatic discharge of these loans, can I go after the tax returns I have lost since 2008?

If I don't qualify, how difficult is the hardship application process and how likely would I be to succeed?  Here's a little history:

Since leaving school 11 years ago I've been working outside of my field of study.  I originally left school to help my mom care for my dad who was undergoing bypass surgery at the time. I never did obtain my degree, and I couldn't return to do so because it was financially impossible. I applied for interest relief until I no longer qualified, which would have been in 2001 sometime, as an individual only qualified for relief for two years back then (no idea what it is now).  In 2002 I got married and moved to Alberta from BC in order to pursue a trade.  We had our first child in 2003.  I moved from Alberta back to BC in 2004 (big mistake, no work), and back to Alberta again in 2006.  I now work as a welder, a far cry from the music degree I was originally pursuing.  In May of 2009, I was laid off to attend my technical training and around the same time the global economy crashed hard and I found myself indefinitely out of work.  What I opted to do, since I was in Alberta and trade school is funded by grants, not loans, was to complete all three years of my technical training back-to-back, hoping that by the time I was finished, jobs would be on the rise again.  I finished all my training and lived out the year on EI and grants for school.  My EI ran out in January of 2010 and we're now living on Income Support as I've still not been able to find work.  I'm still happily married and have five children.  I'm confident that in the fall things will pick up and I'll be able to find stable work, and knock off the remaining hours I need to become a journeyman, but right now, things are incredibly tough.  Our living expenses total around 3600 a month (bare minimum), and our income is somewhere around 2900, adding in things such as CTB benefit and housing subsidy.

Basically life happened, I guess.  I live a completely different life now than the single college guy who accumulated the student debt, but it's still hanging over my head. 

I haven't made any live or written contact with any creditor whatsoever about these debts since 2003, which means that for 7+ years the creditor has not made any confirmed contact with me, or received any response in regards to these debts.  Wouldn't this alone, aside from the fact that the loan doesn't appear on my credit history, render all of the above moot?

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

-Scott

Sharkboy wrote: What I'm really wondering first, is if I need to even do go the hardship route?  My bankruptcy date now falls after the new 7-year mark from my last date of study (April 19th, 2006), my discharge date falls just before the new law went into force... exactly 1 day before, on July 6th, 2007.