Grand Rapids Bankruptcy Attorneys dedicated to personal professional service. Unlike many other bankruptcy law firms, at Debt Relief Michigan your claim will be handled by a qualified attorney from the first meeting until the time of discharge.

Our attorneys are also experienced litigators. If you have potential causes of action related to illegal debt collection practices, or consumer protection act violations, we will evaluate those claims and pursue them if appropriate.

If you are considering filing for Bankruptcy Protection, need help with collection agency harassment or Fair Debt Collection issues, contact our office for a free consultation to discuss your options and allow us to guide you through the process. This year alone, one million people just like you will file for Bankruptcy Protection. The reasons for filing are many:  Job Loss, Divorce, medical bills, higher cost of living, upward adjustment of fluctuating interest rate mortgages, predatory lending practices, threats of home foreclosure, credit card debt or disability.  The increased cost of living has been particularly hard on persons with fixed incomes such as retirees.

If you are struggling to make payments, facing foreclosure of your home, repossession of your car, harassment by creditors or debt collection agencies, we can help. Debt collection issues contact our office for a free consultation to discuss your options or allow us to guide you through the process.

We offer our services at reasonable all inclusive fees and will work diligently to complete your bankruptcy filing to achieve your discharge. Our Chapter 7 Fee of $1,399 includes our filing fee of $299, required credit counseling and debtor education courses and a three party credit report.

If you have made the decision to file, or you want to know if you will be eligible for Chapter 7 please print and prepare our “Worksheet and Checklist.”  You may also wish to review “Documents needed for filing” for additional information on documents you need to bring to your appointment.

WE MAKE IT EASY TO FILE
In addition to evening and weekend hours, we offer "Virtual Bankruptcy" services for those unable to travel to our local office, or those who wish to utilize our expertise outside of the Grand Rapids Area. If you would like more informaton about this service contact our office.

Even under the new Bankruptcy Laws, two thirds of all Bankruptcy Filings are Chapter 7 Filings.  Chapter 7 is the simplest form of Bankruptcy particularly if your debt load exceeds your available income and you do not have much equity in property you own.
Chapter 7 is a true “fresh start” and allows you to permanently eliminate debts such as credit cards and medical bills while retaining most of your personal property.  For example, a married couple in Michigan can protect up to 42,000 in home equity while a single person can protect up to 31,900.  If you have too much disposable income or too many assets but you are still having problems making ends meet you may wish to consider filing for Chapter 13 protection.

Chapter 13 allows you to keep your property while making payments over time.  It is a tool to re-organize and catch up on your debt, while continuing payments on your secured property and making some payments to unsecured creditors, such as credit card companies.  At the end of the payment period, all remaining unsecured debt will be eliminated.  Chapter 13 is also useful in stopping foreclosures, repossessions and putting a hold on late fees and compounding interest charges on your credit cards.  In some instances where property is over-secured the Court may allow the excess lien amount to be eliminated.  If your unsecured debt exceeds $336,900 or your secured debt exceeds 1,010,650 you are not eligible for a Chapter 13 filing.

If you have income above the median income for the state of Michigan, you must pass the means test in order to determine if you can qualify for a Chapter 13 filing.  In Michigan the current median income for an individual up to a family of four is as follows: $43,611, $52,620, $61,737 and $74,824.  The test is used to determine whether you have income in excess of $10,000 available over five years, to pay your unsecured creditors.  If so, you may have to file Chapter 13.  Thus, if you have an extra 166 dollars a month after paying all your monthly expenses, you have the “Means” to pay off some of your unsecured creditors.

Getting a Fresh Start through bankruptcy means more than wiping out existing debt.
While the credit card companies and debt collection agencies want you to believe that filing for Bankruptcy will ruin your credit for 10 years, the fact is that 96% of persons who filed for Bankruptcy were offered credit within a year after filing.  The reason is simple, persons with large debt loads and poor credit histories are bad risks: in fact, they may file for Bankruptcy.  A person who has received a Chapter 7 Discharge no longer suffers from large debt loads and can not file another Chapter 7 for eight years. Therefore chances are you will be a better credit risk after filing for Chapter 7 protection than you are now.

The latest trick of the bottom feeders is to buy old debt, often debt that has been written off by the credit card companies, or for which the statute of limitations has run, for pennies on the dollar.  These companies then harass you to collect on these old debts.  DO NOT MAKE A PAYMENT ON ZOMBIE DEBT.  If a collection agency tries to collect a debt you thought was forgiven, or is over six years old contact an attorney. Making a payment could renew your debt obligation.  To protect our clients Debt Relief Michigan includes all debt, even that which your credit report shows as written off, in our Creditor Matrix.  If you are being hounded by creditors for Zombie Debt we may be able to offer assistance under the Fair Debt Collection Act at no cost to you.  See Zombie debt is hard to kill.

Unlike Debt Settlement Programs, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy immediately relieves you of most of your unsecured debt, such as credit cards, and stops creditor harassment.  On the other hand, if you try and do not complete a Debt Settlement program you will still be responsible for all unpaid debt and you will have paid for the privilege of making time payments. See Debt Settlement sets a Costly Trap.  In addition, debt forgiveness can result in additional tax liabilities. 
Under the tax code the amount of debt forgiven is taxed as income.  A bankruptcy discharge or even settlement of suit on a debt does not result in additional tax liability.