Lesley A. Hoenig, Attorney

05/18/2026

I am bringing this up because I know if this happened to me, it has probably also happened to other people I know, including clients. Today, I received a "notice of adjustment" from the Michigan Department of Treasury. The date of notice appears to be tomorrow 5/19 even though it was generated on 5/9 (according to the citizen portal). The adjustment was reducing the payments made by the exact same amount as my 2025 estimated taxes. This was apparently a known issue back in April and it causes the state to stop sending out letters, but they apparently resumed sending letters, even though the below link indicates they have started sending out correction letters. When I login to the portal, it says I do not owe anything, but there is no correction letter, and I have to wonder if they are even aware if they sent out even more erroneous letters. In any event, their advise is that you don't need to do anything, unless it's getting close to the 60 day deadline to appeal, and if you haven't heard anything go ahead and send the appeal.

04/08/2026

For those that have been wondering. The case that will impact whether the bill that amends bankruptcy exemptions will ever get sent to the governor for signature is scheduled for oral argument in front of the Michigan Supreme Court on May 6.

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02/26/2026

Information on the Scam from the Western District of Michigan:

Wednesday, February 25, 2026Please be advised that some debtors in bankruptcy cases have been contacted by a caller purporting to be from the Court asking for an installment payment. The caller often spoofs the phone number so that the call appears to come from the Bankruptcy Court. The caller asks....

02/25/2026

As an FYI for anyone that may need to know, the bankruptcy court has issued a notice for an alert to a scam where people contact those that have filed bankruptcy to collect fees. This is not something the court will do. A pdf of the notice is at the following link:

10/30/2025

The Court of appeals made a decision regarding the bills not yet submitted to the Governor, including the bankruptcy exemption bill and that decision was that the legislature is required to present the bills to her. Unfortunately, it is likely that the decision will be appealed to the state supreme court, so it may be quite some time before she gets to sign.
https://www.themorningsun.com/2025/10/28/michigan-house-must-send-9-bills-from-2024-to-whitmer-appellate-court-rules/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=fb-MPmorningsun&fbclid=IwY2xjawNviuhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHu3tI4xVPrxSHBzW-fOULHPk7OyyRrfbda2ZiIaeMyw0JPDZ7zVPSoqWL7Q1_aem_Xk8lbhgLZkSgZKz5VmcM5A

The state constitution “leaves no room for discretion” regarding whether or not the bills must be presented and clearly imposes that duty on the “Legislature as a whole” regardless of session, the …

08/20/2025

In case anyone is curious about the status of the bills, including the bill that amends the Michigan Bankruptcy Exemptions that were not sent to the Governor at the end of 2024, the oral argument for the before the Court of Appeals is scheduled for September 9.

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12/21/2024

Some good news for Michiganders that may need to file bankruptcy, but have not been able to because increasing house prices without a change in bankruptcy exemptions was preventing it from happening. The state house and senate have passed a new law to increase Michigan Bankruptcy exemptions, including increasing the Homestead exemption to $125,000 ($200,000 if you are 65+ or disabled), creating a wildcard exemption that does not presently exist under Michigan exemptions and exempting up to $15,000 for a vehicle, among other things. While the governor has not yet signed the bill, it is likely she will sign it. You can look at the bill here:

The Michigan Legislature Website is a free service of the Legislative Service Bureau in cooperation with the Michigan Legislative Council, the Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan Senate, and the Library of Michigan. This site is intended to provide accurate and timely legislative informa...

11/16/2024

This is a bit sparse on details, but just be aware:

The USTP is warning consumer debtors of a scam operator calling itself the “Bankruptcy Fraud Watchdog Group,” which sends letters falsely accusing debtors of failing to disclose assets in their bankruptcy cases and threatening “legal consequences” such as criminal prosecution unless debtors ...

02/28/2023

I am writing this because I received an alarming phone call which started as someone with a question. They were vague about the question, but ultimately, they were asking about a document they indicated was called an "Affidavit of Inheritance" from the "Federal High Court" and were wondering if this was a scam or not. I pointed out that in the US there is no such thing as a "Federal High Court" but it got even weirder. The person called me specifically because it had my name on the bottom of the document (I have yet to see this document though they said they will fax it to me), so I made clear that I did not draft such a document, that this is not a document I would be drafting, and that I am not a notary so I certainly would not have notarized a document. They also seemed to think I was in Milwaukee.

So, I bring this up for two reasons. The first being that I'm not drafting such documents, nor notarizing ANYONE'S signatures, so if anyone were to receive such a document with my name on it, it is most definitely not something I drafted, and a scam.

Second, even if you get such a document with other people's names/contact info on it, it is fake. I do not even know the content of this alleged affidavit, but I'm sure it is an attempt to scam the recipient out of money. I want to make sure no one falls for this.