When deciding which personal chapter bankruptcy you should file, it often becomes almost necessary or actually beneficial for the filer to become familiar with their state bankruptcy districts. For instance, in Illinois if you are living in the Chicago area you would most likely have to file bankruptcy in the Northern district. There is also a southern district to file bankruptcy along with a central district which also handles chapter 7 bankruptcies along with other chapter 13 bankruptcies. The central district also handles every bankruptcy chapter as described in my other posts. Illinois is not alone in breaking up their state in districts to handle one particular area of bankruptcy.
Illinois neighboring state of Michigan is also broken up into similar districts. Michigan uses two different districts to handle a majority of the cases from two of their large cities. For example, bankruptcies being filed in the city of Detroit would file their bankruptcy in Michigan's eastern district; where as, people filing a Lansing bankruptcy in the states capital would file in Michigan's western district. No matter which chapter bankruptcy you are filing be it chapter 7, chapter 11 or Chapter 13, becoming familiar with the district you intend to file helps you understand only one part of the entire bankruptcy process. Although Illinois and Michigan are examples each state is pretty much set up with individual districts to handle their particular chapter Bankruptcy. Illinois closest neighbor Indiana has bankruptcy courts or district courts in the form of a southern district and a northern district.
So now I'm sure you are asking yourself why should you be concerned about districts and what type of chapters are being filed there?
If you decide to file bankruptcy you will want to find out what cases are prevalent in your district. Do people typically file chapter 7 or Chapter 13? Although this is determined by the "means test" you can actually get a feel for what the attorneys and trustees in the area are predominately dealing with. Do the trustees typically push for people to file Chapter 13 rather than Chapter 7 or is most of their cases just a quick chapter 7 with no assets and no long drawn out payment plans as there is in chapter 13.Visiting the district court and seeing how these 341 bankruptcy hearings operate will definitely provide you a feel of where some trustees stand in your area. You will also gain knowledge of trustees wanting your assets to sell. Hiring an attorney that is familiar with your district will definitely help your case in deciding if you have too much equity in your home or even your car and how the local trustee views such issues when making the final decision on which chapter of bankruptcy to file.
If you are considering filing a bankruptcy in Michigan then it is a really serious decision that needs some time and careful consideration. Michigan bankruptcy court proceedings are not an easy thing to go through and resulting affects on your credit can often be disastrous. My recommendation is that you sit down with a Michigan bankruptcy lawyer and discuss the Michigan bankruptcy laws and find out what is best for your situation. If at all possible it would be best to avoiding filing bankruptcy Michigan but sometimes it is unavoidable.
No matter what you decided you do need to sit down with lawyers or attorneys and get professional advice about what you should do.
