You are entitled to a free credit report once a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies including:  Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  You can order your free credit report by mail at: Annual Reporting Credit Report Request Services P.O. Box 105281 Atlanta, GA 30348-5281 -or- You can contact them by telephone at 877-322-8228, or visit them on-line at www.annualreport.com If you think you might be a victim of identity theft or if you see any suspicious activity on your credit report, contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division on-line at www.michigan.gov/ag or you can call them toll free at 1-877-765-8388, or you can write to them at the following address: CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION P.O. BOX 30213-7713 LANSING, MI 48909

I put together this list of the more common terms that you might run across in your bankruptcy. Don’t hesitate to call me anytime. Don’t suffer in silence. Abandonment – A disclaimer of any interest by the trustee or debtor in property that is burdensome or of inconsequential value. Administrative Claim (Or Administrative Expense Claim) – A claim asserted against the bankruptcy estate for the actual, necessary costs and expenses of preserving the estate. This type of claim is entitled to be paid before payment to any other creditors of the bankruptcy estate except secured creditors. Often these claims are asserted by professional persons employed by the bankruptcy estate (e.g., attorneys and accountants) for fees and costs incurred in the estate administration. Adversary Proceeding –…

The biggest difference between a Chapter 7 and a Chapter 13 is that in a 13 you repay a portion of your unsecured debt. In a Chapter 7, your unsecured debt is discharged. The 3 primary reasons why people file Chapter 13 are as follows: 1. Their household income exceeds the median income for their county; 2. They have assets with values that exceed the exemption allowances; or. 3. They are behind on their house mortgage and want to catch up on their arrearage over the term of the plan. Chapter 7 is typically referred to as “dissolution.” If you search the internet you will find a bunch of articles that state that you have to liquidate your assets – which is totally false. If…

Effective March 15, 2011, the Median Income figures for Michigan will change as follows: 1 person:           $42,562 UP FROM         $41,875. 2 persons:         $50,738 DOWN FROM   $52,433 3 persons:         $60,161 DOWN FROM   $61,517 4 persons:         $71,158 DOWN FROM   $74,558 5 persons:         $79,258 DOWN FROM   $82,058 6 persons:         $86,758 DOWN FROM   $89,558 7 or more persons:         Add $7,500 per household member. Remember, household size is based on heads in beds.

If you get sued by a creditor, you have to be aware of some basic civil procedure rules. The first thing to do is to make a note of the date that you are served. If you are served by personal service, you have 21 days to respond to the complaint. If you are served by certified mail, you have 28 days to respond. Your response to the complaint is in the form of an answer. You have to respond to each numbered allegation of the complaint. A standard response for most allegations can be as simple as this: “Neither admit nor deny but leave plaintiff to their proofs.” You answer can also set forth affirmative defenses. I often use the following: “Defendant reserves the…

Absolutely not. Leave it to the US Congress to just muck up the process with ridiculous course requirements that teach you nothing and a means test that can only be understood by the Einstein’s of the world. Here are the cold hard facts – these are the actual filings in the Eastern District of Michigan: 2010:     50,503 2009:     51,596 2008:     41,247 2007:     34,587 2006:     25,052 2005:     65,778 2004:     46,825 Clearly we file more cases now than we did in 2004 when Congress took action to stem the “bankruptcy abuse”.

If you inherit assets within 180 days of filing for bankruptcy in Michigan, those assets become part of your bankruptcy estate. Make sure that you talk to a competent bankruptcy lawyer before you accept any assets by inheritance.