Western Wayne County | Eastern District of Michigan | Free Consultation
Livonia households usually arrive with a first mortgage on a post-war ranch or colonial, a car note required for I-96 or I-275 commuting, and unsecured balances that grew after overtime disappeared. Those cases are filed from the Detroit office in the Eastern District of Michigan — not a Livonia storefront mill.
Livonia’s housing stock is older suburban: paid-down homes exist, but many clients still carry a 30-year note taken out or refinanced in the last two decades. That fact decides Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 more often than the city name does. If equity is within Michigan’s homestead protection and the unsecured debt is the crisis, Chapter 7 is often the faster fresh start. If a sheriff’s-sale date is on the calendar, Chapter 13 is the tool that can stop the sale and catch up the arrears.
Western Wayne County workers are still tied to auto suppliers, hospitals, and school systems. A reduction in overtime or a medical leave shows up as credit-card float, then as a Wayne County collection lawsuit. Livonia is not ‘too suburban’ for bankruptcy. It is a city where modest home equity and a W-2 paycheck are the typical facts we run through the means test.
You meet at 19120 Grand River Ave in northwest Detroit, a short drive down Grand River or via I-96. Phone consultations are available when a shift schedule makes a weekday office visit hard. Evening and weekend appointments can be arranged.
Metro Detroit hospital systems generate large unsecured balances. In Livonia those bills often sit next to a still-current mortgage. Chapter 7 can discharge qualifying medical debt while Michigan exemptions are used to keep the house and a modest vehicle.
Livonia clients who are behind but employed usually need Chapter 13’s stay-and-catch-up structure, not a debt-settlement company that cannot stop a foreclosure calendar.
Household income in Livonia can sit near Michigan’s median. The means test is a worksheet, not a vibe. We run the last six months of pay and household size before anyone promises Chapter 7.
Livonia bankruptcy petitions are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. State-court garnishments and collection judgments typically run through Wayne County. Filing bankruptcy is what triggers the automatic stay — a phone call does not.
Michigan exemptions, not a national form set, decide what you keep. Home equity, a vehicle, retirement accounts, and household goods are the usual protected categories we review with Livonia clients.
The office is at 19120 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI 48223. From Livonia, Grand River Avenue and I-96 are the usual routes. If you have a sale date or a garnishment already running, call (855) 940-2265 rather than waiting for a convenient Saturday.
Bring pay stubs, a creditor list, and any foreclosure or lawsuit papers if you have them. If you do not, come anyway — missing documents are normal at the first meeting.
Stephen A. Thomas, PLC
Call (855) 940-2265 to discuss a Livonia matter.
No. Livonia cases are handled from Stephen A. Thomas, PLC at 19120 Grand River Ave and filed in the Eastern District of Michigan. Local knowledge matters more than a second storefront.
If the petition is filed before the sale, Chapter 13 can stop the sale and fold missed payments into a 3-to-5-year plan while you stay in the home, provided the plan is feasible. Timing is the first question we ask.
No. Qualification is the Michigan means test plus exemptions, not a stereotype of the city. Many Livonia families qualify for Chapter 7; some need Chapter 13 to protect equity or catch up a mortgage.
Call (855) 940-2265 or send the form. Mention you are in Livonia so we can apply the right court and exemption rules.