On June 27, 2013, Managing Attorney Chris Jones was a featured speaker at a Consumer Bankruptcy Association presentation in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He instructed both consumer and creditor bankruptcy attorneys about the changes made to the district's model Chapter 13 plan effective January 2013.  He covered such topics as handling debtors' income tax refunds and whether these funds are required to…

Our managing attorney, Christopher Jones, just received board certification as a Consumer Bankruptcy Specialist.  This is a demanding process that he completed with the American Board of Certification (ABC) over the past three years. ABC is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the public and improving the quality of the bankruptcy bar.  The rigorous certification standards are designed…

Is this the year to finally put a plan in place to resolve your unpaid bills by either debt elimination or debt consolidation?  Factors in the current economy point to conditions unfavorable gaining additional disposable income to overcome outstanding debts:

• Stagnant wages
• Less opportunities for job advancement due to sluggish Michigan job growth
• Increased…

Last month federal regulators announced a settlement of $8.5 billion dollars with 10 major banks to satisfy claims of foreclosure proceeding violations.  This breakdown is $3.3 billion in direct payments to borrowers.  The remaining part of the settlement will go to such things as debt forgiveness and loan modifications totaling $5.2 billion.  So how will this money really be used? - and more importantly,…

Mounting credit card debt can be stressful.  Many people have found creative solutions to curb their spending½.cutting up their credit cards, cancelling unused cards or even putting their cards on ice½.literally putting them in the freezer to avoid impulse spending!  So what is the right balance½.are credit cards inherently "bad?" Our perspective is no, a plastic card is not the problem½it is the…