Walking Away From Mortgage(s) Can Hurt You in the Long-Run

This is the original post and content of the Wink & Wink bankruptcy law firm of Denver, Colorado.  The topic is timely here in Michigan as many homeowners and divorcing couples, struggle to keep their homes.Strategic Default. You Walk Away. “Should you walk away from your underwater mortgage?” These phrases have been reaching fever pitch in the news media lately because of the continuing economic crisis and its huge toll on house values nationwide. The gist of the idea is that if your house is underwater, chances of you ever regaining the equity you have lost are slim to none. However, the media seems to be silent with regard to the risk of deficiency judgment, which often lurks out there like a predator waiting to attack!The thought...

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Posted in: bankruptcy,Bloomberg,creditors,deficiency judgment,mortgage,short sale,strategic default

Texting While Driving Soon Illegal in Michigan

Distracted driving takes lives.  Many adults have experienced that sick feeling of guilt and relief when you realize you've crossed over the center-line because you were checking your cell phone.For most of us, we swerve back to our lane, hoping for the best and, statistically, you're fine; you continue to your meeting or appointment.  Others, however, are not so lucky.  Many injuries and deaths result as the incidents of distracted driving sweep over our state's roadways.The cause is the now-ubiquitous cell phone and our seemingly insatiable need to "stay-in-touch" with everyone and everything at all times.  The electronic criminal lawyer posted on this subject last spring, speculating that it would not be long before the...

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Posted in: cell phone,distracted driving,Governor Granholm,master driving record,Michigan House of Representative,Michigan Senate,Secretary of State

Interview with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan

In 1989, I completed an 18-month stint as a research attorney with the Court of Appeals.  My next job was an associate attorney position in the appellate section of Plunkett & Cooney, then a Detroit-based firm.  Another attorney that joined the firm at the same time was Maura Corrigan. At the time, Corrigan narrowly missed a choice (political) federal appointment as the U.S. Attorney for Detroit in the Bush 41 era.  It was a professional perk to work alongside Justice Corrigan for two-years before she was appointed to the Court of Appeals; subsequently getting elected to the Michigan Supreme Court. In yet another example of how fast and wide legal information is spread via the Internet, an excellent podcast series known as...

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Posted in: Justice Maura Corrigan,Michigan Court of Appeals,Michigan Supreme Court,Oakland County Prosecutor,Paul Stablein,Plunkett and Cooney,U. S. Attorney

Same-Sex Marriage Cases Go Constitutional

A federal law suit filed last year by two California same-sex couples (one gay; one lesbian) has raised constitutional issues in the gay marriage context and is unfolding in a momentous trial.  In Massachusetts, another federal case tests whether a federal statutory provision containing a sexual-preference distinction is constitutional.The complaint in Perry v Schwarzenneger, filed in the Northern District of California and assigned to Judge Vaughn R. Walker, has high-powered lawyers seeking far-reaching relief for the rights of (gay) individuals.  The case is another chapter in the tumultuous evolution of Californian sex-gender politics.  The "all-in" nature of the Perry case, however, will have effects that touch...

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Posted in: Dennis Hollingsworth,Jeff Zarillo,Kris Perry,Mary Bonauto,Paul Katami,same-sex marriage,Sandy Stier,Schwarzenegger,SCOTUS