Here’s How to Beat Your Student Debt Collector

There are countless advertisements on the internet and late-night television promising the indebted an easy way out. Just spend a few thousand bucks, and poof—that debt is gone. For some types of student loans, this too-good-to-be-true scenario has proven out: Hiring an attorney can, in certain cases, get massively indebted borrowers out from under hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans.

The reason is as simple as it is astonishing: Some creditors trying to collect on private student loans haven’t been able to prove in court that they actually own the debt in question, prompting judges to let borrowers off the hook. There are real risks, however, even if the prospect of dodging a massive debt seems tempting. Here’s a guide to how it can work—and what happens if you fight and lose.