This is a story I received from a client who retained my services for a Michigan chapter 7 bankruptcy. I don’t usually post personal stories of people who filed bankruptcy, but he not only gave me permission, he encouraged it. Again this perspective on filing a chapter 7 is his, and not my own, and it isn’t meant to be advice….
To properly discern whether filing bankruptcy in Michigan is an option, let alone the best one for you, I’d recommend getting a free bankruptcy consultation. If things are piling up you can stop all that nonsense that comes with being behind the eight ball,you can call now and schedule one or just fill out the form and I’ll be in touch.
Here is that story, I invite you to give your feedback in the comments.
I’ve always thought of filing bankruptcy of failure and more specifically admitting and accepting failure, of course I had no clue that I thought this way until recently deciding to file Michigan chapter 7 bankruptcy. I thought I would write to you and explain the actual situation surrounding my decision to file and how I found myself in a situation where it was quite literally impossible to continue the trudge.
I was a self employed contractor in Michigan and took on a large project that was very difficult and a stretch goal for my business. I had over 30 employees and did around 2.7 million dollars; I don’t say this to brag, but to shed light on the contribution I was making to the local and state economy here in Michigan. I wasn’t a “slouch”, I worked hard and was very good to my employees, paying them 15% to 25% more than the industry standard. We did good work. The short version goes something like this:
I got into a difficult financial situation as a result of slow payment on a project for a very large (the largest) retail company. The money I was owed was very substantial (to the tune of 300k) and it greatly affected my cash flow and ability to pay my bills. During the following winter I started receiving judgments and because of the Michigan winter I had no income or job prospects, I could not pay my bills. One day I got a call that a check bounced and as I looked into it, I discovered that I had a garnishment on my bank account which resulted in about $800 dollars in over draft fees and I had NO MONEY!
Feeling over whelmed and flat out scared I went into survival mode and began doing what I could do to stop the bleeding. I struggled for another year.
During that time I lost my house which I owned on a land contract, sold much of my equipment to pay bills and over all suffered greatly. I got rid of ALL my employees and started to have anxiety attacks on a daily basis, I couldn’t sleep, lost my appetite and was in a very difficult mental situation.
The first time I considered filing bankruptcy is when it dawned on me that it would take the rest of my life to get out of the situation I was in. I share this story because I believe I could have taken different actions and made different decisions that would probably been better for everyone including my employees, my family, myself, those I owed money to, the State of Michigan, basically everyone. I should have filed bankruptcy sooner.
I hope you can pass this letter onto people who need help and I hope it can communicate that the idea of “surrender to win” comes into play sometimes and declaring bankruptcy can be the first step to improving your life and lives of those around you. I had a big hang up with the ethics involved with declaring bankruptcy and appreciate you Bankruptcy and The Bible report you gave to me for free.
I also wanted to thank you personally for your assistance with my bankruptcy, I’d recommend you to anyone and consider you one of the best Michigan bankruptcy lawyers around.
I appreciate your explaining to me the Michigan bankruptcy laws and helping me to understand who can and should file bankruptcy in Michigan.