A DEBTOR IS ANYONE WHO OWES MONEY (A DEBT). A CREDITOR IS ANYONE TO WHOM YOU OWE MONEY.   NO ATTORNEY FEES NEEDED TO START Call for an appointment for a FREE initial office consultation. You do not have to bring any money to this appointment. I will meet with you to discuss the different types of bankruptcies available and advise you on which type may be best for your financial situation. The Attorney fee for your bankruptcy will be reasonable and AFFORDABLE and there are EASY MONTHLY TERMS available. The Bankruptcy Court requires a fee to file your case. This amount is not part of the attorney fee but is a "filing fee" which is paid directly to the United States Bankruptcy Court. The filing fee for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $209.00. The filing fee for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is $194.00. These filing fees remain the same whether you are filing a joint bankruptcy with your spouse, or an individual bankruptcy. STOP HOME FORECLOSURE, AUTO REPOSSESSION When you file a bankruptcy you IMMEDIATELY STOP A FORECLOSURE AND REPOSSESSIONS. The United States Bankruptcy Court provides immediate protection from your creditors upon the filing of your bankruptcy with the court. PAY SOME DEBTS ON A REDUCED BASIS A bankruptcy may allow you to pay an amount less than you owe to a creditor and allow you to keep the item(s) purchased. This may be done by filing a Chapter 13 or a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. For example, if you have a sofa that you purchased 2 years ago for $1000.00 from Franks Furniture Store, and you have a balance of $800.00 owing to Franks Furniture Store, but the sofa is now only worth $400.00, through a Bankruptcy proceeding you may be able to simply pay Franks Furniture Store the sum of $400.00 and retain the sofa. KEEP YOUR PROPERTY The bankruptcy law allows you to keep exempt assets. In most states, you may choose between Federal and State exemptions. In many, but not all, the Federal exemptions are better because they will allow you to protect more in assets. Some of the Federal exemptions you are entitled to are: $18,450.00 in equity in your home and $36,900.00 if you are married; If you do not need to use all of this amount, up to $9,250.00 of the unused portion may be used to cover any other property you choose (double this amount if you are married); additionally, $2,950.00 in equity in your car; $475.00 per item in your household goods up to a total of $9,850.00. The amounts of the exemptions are doubled when a married couple file together. Equity in property is the amount in value after subtracting the amount of debt. For example, if you own a $75,000.00 house and owe a mortgage debt of $50,000.00, you would have $25,000.00 equity in the house. To keep the property you only need to protect the equity in the property, not the entire value. The above list is just some of the exemptions. It is not all inclusive. There are additional exemptions to protect other assets in the Bankruptcy Code. This is such an important topic to anyone who is considering filing a bankruptcy that they are urged to fully discuss it with a qualified bankruptcy attorney. PROTECT YOUR COSIGNERS A bankruptcy may allow you to protect your cosigners. You simply continue to pay the debt in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy you would also pay the debt, but you may be able to stretch the payments over a longer period of time and also reduce the monthly payment amount. STOP LAWSUITS AND GARNISHMENTS By filing bankruptcy you IMMEDIATELY STOP LAWSUITS and GARNISHMENTS The United States Bankruptcy Court provides immediate protection from your creditors upon the filing of your bankruptcy with the court. Under the Bankruptcy Code, the debtor is granted certain protection from creditors. Garnishments and continued collection efforts are examples of prohibited acts. If unauthorized actions are taken by a creditor against you, the court may penalize that creditor. STOP UNWANTED CLUB MEMBERSHIPS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS When you file a bankruptcy you CANCEL UNWANTED MEMBERSHIPS. A Bankruptcy filing cancels membership contracts making them null and void. DEAL WITH STUDENT LOANS If you have defaulted on a guaranteed student loan, you may restructure the debt or cure the default through a chapter 13 bankruptcy. STOP BILL COLLECTORS FROM CONTACTING YOU When you file bankruptcy, the United States Bankruptcy Court provides immediate protection from your creditors. The debtor is granted certain protection from creditors. Creditors cannot contact you to demand payment, or do any acts to try to collect on a debt. PREVENT UTILITY TURN-OFFS Filing bankruptcy will stop any interruption of service from the utility company. The bankruptcy will have to be filed with the Bankruptcy Court prior to a shut off date in order to stop interruption of service. PROVIDE FOR RETURN OF DRIVERS LICENSE SUSPENDED FOR UNPAID JUDGMENTS If your driver's license has been suspended due to an unpaid judgment, you may be able to discharge the judgment debt in a bankruptcy and again obtain a valid driver's license. OBTAIN A FRESH START FREE FROM MOST UNSECURED DEBTS Bankruptcy may give you a fresh start, free from credit card debt, personal loans, past due utility bills, medical bills and allow you to "breath again". KEEP THE DEBTS YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO PAY You have a choice when you file bankruptcy to keep certain debts and continue to pay them. A common example would be if you obtained a loan to purchase an automobile and there is still a balance owing, you may need to continue to pay that debt in order to keep your automobile in either a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MICHAEL C. REINERT If you live in Michigan in the Eastern District-Northern Division and wish to make an appointment with Michael C. Reinert to discuss a possible bankruptcy, you may contact his office by: TELEPHONE: (989) 799-8860 FACSIMILE: (989) 799-8861 EMAIL: mcreinert@msn.com