The mantra is repeated over and over: You can’t discharge student loans through bankruptcy. However, while it’s reality for most indebted people, the conventional wisdom isn’t quite true.

In a seldom-invoked provision, people in extreme circumstances can jettison their student loans if they can prove to a judge they face “undue financial hardship.”

In order to qualify, a debtor must pass what is known as the Brunner test, stemming from a 1987 federal appeals court decision, which carries three conditions:

The debtor cannot maintain, based on current income and expenses, a “minimal” standard of living for herself and her dependents if forced to repay the loans Additional circumstances exist indicating that this state of affairs is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period of the student loans The debtor has made good faith efforts to repay the loans.