Family Law

• Divorce
• Child Support
  The filing of a bankruptcy matter engages a Federal injunction called “the Automatic Stay against Collections †which requires that all creditors (with a very few limited exceptions, such as landlords holding possession judgments and child support recipients) cease and desist in any collections activity of any sort as of that moment of filing.
• Spousal Support
  Yes, the law requires that you list all of your debts when you file a bankruptcy, either Chapter 7 or 13.  This includes credit card debt, medical bills, past-due utility bills such as DTE Energy, etc. It also includes any debt that we know cannot typically be wiped out such as child support, alimony, student loans and recent i ncome tax debts owed to the IRS or State of Michigan. The bankruptcy court and your trustee will want to get a complete picture of your entire financial picture which requires an accurate listing of all your creditors. This even includes friends and family members who have loaned you money.  Just because you list a debt on your bankruptcy petition does not mean that you cannot pay that person or company back after filing or even after you are granted a discharge.   The discharge injunction means that they cannot try to collect from you, but you are free to voluntarily pay whomever you wish.
• Legal Separation
  Your Bankruptcy Estate includes your existing assets as well as that property recovered by your bankruptcy trustee, and it also can include certain property that you become entitled to within 6 months of the filing of the petition that you inherit or acquire through a property settlement pursuant to a divorce or legal separation, or through as a beneficiary of life insurance.  The trustee in a bankruptcy case is the representative of the estate and has a fiduciary duty to the creditors of the estate. In these relatively rare circumstances, we need to notify the trustee and will need to amend the bankruptcy schedules and possibly amend exemptions to protect all or a portion of the property.

Criminal Law

• Traffic Violations
  Certain fines or penalties (criminal restitution, traffic tickets, parking tickets, etc.)  Driver responsibility fees in Michigan are presently dischargeable.

Property Law

• Property Damage
  Yes.  This is another common reason for filing bankruptcy.  The Michigan Secretary of State (SOS) can suspend your driver’s license if you have a judgment creditor (known as financial liability judgment) or a local district court may notify the Secretary of State of your failure to comply with a Court ordered judgment (FCJ or Failure to Comply with Judgment). The SOS will notify you via letter that your license is suspended until taken care of which usually means it must be paid.  Fortunately, a bankruptcy filing and eventual discharge order will satisfy the department of SOS and will allow you to reinstate your Michigan driver’s license after paying small reinstatement fees.  I have had many clients over the years who were involved in accidents in which significant property damage occurred or personal injuries resulted to others.  In many of these accidents, my clients had no insurance coverage due to the fact that they could not afford the insurance premiums.  Later on, they are sued by an insurance company or Michigan Assigned Claims facility who paid tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to the injured party involved in the accident.  Bankruptcy law states that so long as the debtor was not intoxicated with alcohol or drugs when the accident causing personal injuries occurred, the debt stemming from the accident is dischargeable in bankruptcy.  In Michigan, since 2003, drivers who have certain traffic offenses or accumulate a certain number of points against their driver’s license may be subject to Michigan’s Driver responsibility fees.  Fortunately, these are administrative in nature and are not criminal fines or penalties which are not dischargeable.  If you have a large amount of driver responsibility fees and your license has been suspended as a result, the filing of a bankruptcy will wipe it out.  If you have had your license suspended due to driver responsibility fees or being involved in an accident with no insurance coverage, contact a bankruptcy attorney, so that I can help you get your license restored.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Yes, the bankruptcy laws require you to list all of your real and personal property on the bankruptcy petition and supporting schedules. Disclosing or listing assets in bankruptcy is fundamental to the bankruptcy process and is just as important as listing all of you creditors. Proper disclosure even requires you to list intangible items that you may have an interest in such as a potential interest in a personal injury lawsuit or other legal claim.  The good news is that most of my clients can protect or exempt their real and personal property from the trustee whose job it is to investigate the assets you have, and sell any non-exempt property to pay your creditors. Properly listing and exempting your assets is a very difficult task.  I see attorneys at court who do not regularly practice bankruptcy who make serious mistakes while preparing their client’s petition and their client ends up losing an asset. If you are worried if a certain asset that you have may be in jeopardy, by all means, tell your attorney about it, and don’t try to conceal assets in bankruptcy, because it can most likely be protected.

Trusts and Estates

• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  Dec 20, 2024 | Michigan Bankruptcy Exemptions, New Bankruptcy Law in Michigan As a Michigan bankruptcy attorney, I’ve seen firsthand the impact that state-level legislation can have on individuals and businesses struggling with financial difficulties. Recently, the Michigan legislature passed House Bill No. 4901, which is set to become law...
• Foreclosure
  Is behind on a house or car payment and needs time in which to get caught up so that they can keep the asset. A Chapter 13 can stop the foreclosure and repossession and force the creditor to take payments.
• Debt Collection