Sheriff’s sale dates
The sale is a deadline, not a suggestion. Call (855) 940-2265 with the date in hand. Chapter 13 is the usual home-saving structure.
County-wide · Detroit, MI
Stephen A. Thomas: Bankruptcy Attorney Serving Wayne County, MI
County collection system | Sheriff’s sales | Eastern District of Michigan
Wayne County is one collection machine: Circuit Court judgments, garnishments, and sheriff’s sales on a public calendar. Bankruptcy is the federal override. Stephen A. Thomas, PLC files those cases from Grand River Avenue.
- 35+ yearsLicensed legal practice
- Free consultConfidential case review
- Same-weekAppointments, including evenings
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Local landscape
How Wayne County cases actually look
A Wayne County page is not a city page with the word ‘county’ swapped in. The county is the forum for foreclosure sales and for many wage garnishments. Detroit, Dearborn, Livonia, Redford, and the downriver and western suburbs all feed the same sheriff’s-sale apparatus and the same federal bankruptcy court.
Clients who call after a notice of sale often spent months in a loan-modification queue. Modification is lender-controlled. Chapter 13 is court-controlled, if it is filed in time. Clients who call after a garnishment often ignored the lawsuit because they could not afford an answer. The judgment then became a paycheck problem.
Michigan exemptions still apply county-wide. The means test still uses Michigan median-income figures. What changes by city is housing stock and drive time — not the court.
Why Wayne County is not a cloned city page
County-level problems we see repeatedly
Garnishments after default judgments
Once wages are attached, catching up without a stay is often impossible. Filing can stop a garnishment when the case is docketed.
Multiple creditors, one paycheck
County process lets several collectors line up. Bankruptcy stays the field and puts unsecured claims into one federal case.
Court & process
Two systems: Wayne County and the Eastern District
State collection and foreclosure run through Wayne County. Consumer bankruptcy runs through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The automatic stay is the bridge. We file the federal case; the county process generally has to stop.
How we can help in Wayne County
Service lines for Wayne County, MI residents
Emergency filing pressure
- Sheriff’s sale, garnishment, or repossession already on the calendar
- Automatic stay takes effect when the case is filed
- Same-week consultation when a deadline is real
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
- Discharge qualifying credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans
- Michigan exemptions for home, car, and retirement
- Means test using Michigan median-income figures
Chapter 13 bankruptcy
- Stop a foreclosure sale and catch up on the mortgage
- Plan payment based on your actual Detroit-area budget
- Restructure car notes and certain tax debt inside the plan
Office access
County-wide access to the Detroit office
19120 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI 48223 serves the county. Downriver, western Wayne, and Detroit neighborhoods all use this office. Call (855) 940-2265. If you live in Oakland County cities we also serve (Southfield, Farmington Hills), the same federal court still applies.
Stephen A. Thomas, PLC
Call (855) 940-2265 to discuss a Wayne County matter.
Nearby communities
Related pages near Detroit, MI
Direct answers
Wayne County questions
Where are Wayne County sheriff’s sales stopped?
A timely bankruptcy filing generally stays a foreclosure sale through the automatic stay. The petition has to be filed before the sale. We handle that filing from the Detroit office.
Does every Wayne County city have the same exemptions?
Yes. Michigan exemptions are statewide. Housing values differ by city, which is why Livonia, Dearborn, and Detroit proper can produce different chapter recommendations from the same statute.
Can you help if my lawsuit is already in Wayne County Circuit Court?
Yes. Bring the complaint, any default, and any garnishment notice. We will explain whether bankruptcy, an exemption claim, or another response fits — and we will not pretend a settlement company can stay a Circuit Court garnishment.
Wayne County
Schedule a consultation
Call (855) 940-2265 or send the form. Mention you are in Wayne County so we can apply the right court and exemption rules.