Most people consider Bankruptcy when the have had trouble paying their bills for a while. They usually have tried to lower their interest rates or payments, or borrow money, but at some point it becomes clear that they are too far in the hole to get out. Whether due to job loss, divorce, sickness or other circumstances, Bankruptcy can get you relief from the seemingly endless cycle of bills, late and overdue payments, collection calls, letters, and all the other stress that goes with having too much debt.

The term often used is "Fresh Start," and that's exactly what happens when a person goes through Bankruptcy. While getting out of debt may not put any more money in your pocket, it sure keeps a lot from going out of it. In the previous "Bankruptcy Quick Start Guide" section, I explained how my office handles a case from start to finish. In this section, we'll take a more formal view of how the process works from a legal point of view.

Let's begin by pointing out that Bankruptcy is Federal. Whereas things like Divorce, and DUI cases are heard in State Courts, (like your local District Court, or your County Circuit court), Bankruptcy Courts are Federal, and an part of the United States Court system. The Court in which all my cases are filed and heard is technically known as the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division at Detroit, and is part of the United States District Court in the same Division. Whew!

Below you will find links (some with videos) to the various sections of the Official United States Courts web site. This is the site for all of the United States Bankruptcy Courts.

Here is the Official Homepage for the United States Bankruptcy Courts. Beyond being the Homepage and sort of site map for the larger site, there's not much there:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts.html

The US Courts website advises hiring a competent bankruptcy attorney, and here's their explanation for that advice:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/prose.html

In terms of bankruptcy basics and the process in general, the reader should begin here, in the section entitled "Bankruptcy Basics":

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics.html

An overview of the whole bankruptcy process, as seen from the Court's point of view is covered this section:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/process.html

From there, you should go through the section about "Chapter 7" which is the kind of bankruptcy my office handles and which most people file:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/chapter7.html

The end product of a bankruptcy, called the "discharge," is discussed in this section:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/discharge.html

Even though my office doesn't handle the burdensome repayment plans attempted under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, here's the nuts and bolts of that process:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/chapter13.html

Finally, here is the "Glossary" section, which pretty much provides a definition for every bankruptcy term you can imagine:

http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/glossary.html

My office handles cases in which the person or people filing live in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, St. Clair and Sanilac Counties. Those cases all have their Hearings held in Detroit and are thus considered "local."

The Detroit Bankruptcy Court's website, with links to Local Rules and other information relevant to Detroit cases is here: http://www.mieb.uscourts.gov/

Bankruptcy is complicated. The job of a good Bankruptcy Attorney is to have a mastery of those complicated laws, rules and procedures and make the process easy for the client. I don't think anyone can make it easier than my office does. We make the information gathering process as simple as possible for the client. We have no forms for the Client to fill out. My Clients never deal with forms; instead, that's part of the service we provide.

Time and time again my staff is told by callers and clients how friendly and helpful they are compared to other offices that were called. We take the time to explain the process over the phone, during regular business hours, and make sure all of your questions are answered. The telephone consultation is free, confidential, and no one will ever press you to make an appointment. I expect you to call around.

If you are in debt, and need to get out of debt, I promise that your call to my office will be answered by a friendly and helpful staff member. Whoever else you do or don't call, if you take the time to speak with my office, I'm sure you'll be glad you did.