- Michigan has pending legislation regulating “debt settlement services”. ( See http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billintroduced/Senate/htm/2007-SIB-0959.htm )
- The State proposes to:
- License and regulate providers of debt settlement services (e.g. those acting or offering to act as an intermediary between an individual and 1 or more creditors of the individual for the purpose of adjusting, settling, discharging, reaching a compromise on, or otherwise altering the terms of payment of the individual’s obligations, without receiving or exercising direct control over any money of the individual, for the purpose of distributing that money to those creditors).
- Require strict licensing, fees and umbrella insurance; requires financial assessment and disclosures regarding non-profit consumer help-lines and other educational resources; full disclosure of risks; requires contract in writing with visible statutory notices and disclosures; attached cancellation form
- Permits limited power of attorney, limited up front fees Lawyers barred in Michigan are exempt from this definition.
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