My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: OHIO I apologize in advance for the length...
While I was an undergrad in 2003 I took out 4 separate private education loans through Key Bank. In 2006, these loans went into litigation and I was ordered to pay approximately $26,000. With the help of a lawyer, there was an agreement that I would pay 100 dollars a month (due to my very low income at the time) and that every 6 months my income would be re-evaluated and my payments adjusted accordingly. No one ever contacted me to re-evaluate, nor did I contact them. I have been making the payment on time since 2006.
Just recently I got divorced and have been in the process of trying to rebuild my credit. After speaking with a financial advisor, he told me to contact Key Bank and ask them to report to the credit bureau that I have been paying as agreed. Key Bank informed me that this was not an option and that they would not report anything to the bureaus until it was paid in full or until I settled out the debt. This surprised me because I was under the impression that all educational loans are non-dischargeable, meaning that settling was not an option not was bankruptcy. I asked the Key Bank rep what my payoff was and was shocked when she told me I now owed them $33,000 due to the interest that had incurred. Again, she told me that settling was an option and took my number and told me that someone from a different department would call me back about a settlement agreement. I was never contacted.
I contacted the lawyer that had helped me in 2006 and asked for his advice. He stated that the fact that they said I had the option to settle rang bells for him. If settling was an option then were these loans really non-dischargeable and would bankruptcy be an option? He advised me to request the original promissory notes for each loan from Key Bank. (I no longer have my copies because of a very bad flood that destroyed these documents along with many other things.) When I requested copies from another Key bank rep, he told me that "due to the status of your account I cannot provide you with those documents. You will have to contact the lawyer and he can request them". I did not understand this but he was very adamant about it so I did not press the issue. I then asked the rep if he could provide me a contact number so I could give this to my lawyer so the lawyer could get in touch with the appropriate department. The rep told me that no, my lawyer will need to use his own resources. The representative also told me that he had no access to any of the original loan account numbers although he did verify that he could see that they were four separate loans.
At this point, I am very confused. It was apparent that Key Bank did not want to give me any information about my accounts. I am wondering how I should proceed with this and, if this private education loan is dischargeable, either by settlement or bankruptcy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

