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  • Status Conferences for Judge Oxholm
    Updated 8/18/22: Reinstatement of Status Conferences for Judge Oxholm.  Please click HERE for details about the new status conferences process.
  • BK-Documents (Updated 1/3/22)
    Effective November 30th, 2021, our office will no longer accept documents at dwrfinancials@det13.com.  We will be using bkdocs.us  (fka: 13Documents.com).  This service is free and more robust than the old "email reader".  There is a "quickstart" guid in the Forms section under Attorneys.  We WILL continue to receive documents at ruskin.orders@det13.com and ruskin.stips@det13.com.  Contact rich@det13.com if you have issues joining or uploading documents with BKDocs.
  • CBA presents TFS
    TFS BillPay and the Consumer Bankruptcy Association will be co-sponsoring a FREE educational session with food and refreshments on May 16th at 4:00 p.m.. Please join TFS and the Chapter 13 Trustees to discuss various services TFS can offer your debtors. Click the link for additional information and to register for the event.
  • Ch 13 Trustee Memo on Bateson
    Click here for a memo outlining how Chapter 13 Trustees in Eastern District of Michigan will handle funds in cases dismissed post-confirmation as required by the Bateson decision.
  • Detroit area Ch 7 Trustee Contact list (2021)
    Click here for an updated Detroit area Ch 7 Trustee contact list.  Please note that our office did not create this list, nor does our office maintain it.  We provide it here as a courtesy to the bankruptcy community.
  • ECF Procedure 8 - Filing Format Requirements:
    Pursuant to ECF Procedure 8 - Filing Format Requirements (b) Hyperlinks, the Court is now striking pleadings that contain a hyperlink. We have found that PDF programs like Acrobat automatically create a hyperlink when a URL is detected.  The standard stipulations for 3rd party payment and payment by TFS have www.TFSBillPay.com in the text.  Acrobat and other programs will convert this to a hyperlink when converting to PDF.  The Court will strike the document. We suggest that you remove the www from these pleadings before converting the documents to PDF. The Trustees have updated the forms on their websites to remove the links.  Please take steps to ensure your stipulations are not stricken.
  • End of Plan Calc on 13N
    Access to Plan Calc on the 13Network will end on January 1, 2024.  Plan Calc is moving to the National Data Center (www.ndc.org).  We will eventually discontinue access to the 13Network.  Please send an email to rich@det13.com with the email address you wish to associate with an NDC account, as well as a username setup your FREE NDC account.
  • Financial Services institutions and ACH
    Please click HERE to read about issues related to Financial Services institutions like Chime and problems setting up ACH and TSF transfers.
  • Future 341 Dockets and Court Hearing Dates List for 2024 (Updated December 2023), Updated Upcoming 341 Meetings and Hearing Dates List through January 2025
    Click here to download a list of all the updated upcoming 341 Meeting dates, as well as hearing dates for Judge Oxholm and Judge Gretchko for our office.  This document can also be found in the "Office Calendar" section in each tab.
  • Important Announcement - Gift Card Scams
    It has come to our attention that there have been attempts to convince debtors to make plan payments via gift cards.   Please click HERE to read more about this scam and what you can do to help prevent it.
  • Joint Memo Regarding Periodic Billing Statements in Bankruptcy
    Click here to read a Joint Memo from the Eastern and Western District Chapter 13 Trustees regarding Amendments to the Consumer Protection Bureau's Mortgage Servicing Rule regarding Periodic Billing Statements in Bankruptcy.  A sample of the Statement is attached to the memo.
  • New Form Chapter 13 Plan
    The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has entered Administrative Order 17-04 regarding the use of a Local Form for a Chapter 13 Plan.  Click here to download the Court Notice.
  • New Required Forms
    Per the Notice from the Court dated June 25, 2024, new debt limits took effect on June 22, 2024.  New versions of Form 101 and Form 201 must be used starting no later than July 8, 2024.  Please make sure your forms are updated ASAP. Form 101 - Voluntary Petition For Individuals Form 201 - Voluntary Petition for Non-Individuals
  • New Zoom 341 Process
    Please CLICK HERE to view a memo on the new Zoom 341 process.  More updates to our 341 procedures will be posted as we gain experience with the system.  We ask that you have patience with us during the transition and that you help us with the change by communicating the Zoom meeting links and Breakout Room assignments to your clients in advance of the Meeting.   Meeting link:
    https://zoom.us/join
    Zoom Meeting ID: 763 552 0686
    Zoom Passcode: 7683050475  
  • Notice Regarding Status Conferences and Contested Dockets
    Please click the links below for instructions for each Judge related to cases administered by our office.  
  • Reports Emailed via the NDC
    On October 18th, our office will begin emailing our "Six Month" reports via the National Data Center (NDC) instead of via the US Mail.  Debtors and their attorneys will receive a link via email to go to www.ndc.org to access the reports.  If you are not yet enrolled with the NDC then now is the time!  Debtors who are not enrolled with the NDC, but for whom we have email addresses, will still get a link and will be able to view the report without joining.
  • Trustee Fee FY 2024
    Effective October 1, 2023, the US Trustee Program has established the Trustee Fee for cases administered by David Ruskin at 8.5%.  This amount can fluctuate during the course of a fiscal year as well as during the life of a Plan. We encourage the use of a rate of 10% when calculating cases to account for fluctuations in the fee during the life of the Plan.
  • Updated Docket Information
    UPDATED 1/5/24
    • Effective 10/26/23, there will be a HARD CUT OFF of 3:00 PM on the Tuesday before a Judge Gretchko docket to resolve matters.  Our office does not have the authority to adjourn, confirm, resolve or otherwise remove a case from the upcoming docket after that time.
    • Effective January 2024, there will be a HARD CUT OFF of 3:00 PM on the Thursday before a Judge Oxholm docket to resolve matters.  Our office does not have the authority to adjourn, confirm, resolve or otherwise remove a case from the upcoming docket after that time.
    • Effective January 2024, Judge Oxholm will experiment with not holding Status Conferences for her docket.  This continuation of this program is contingent on most matters being resolved before the hearing date.
    • Effective January 29, 2024, dockets for Judge Oxholm will start at 10:00 A.M.
  • Updated Forms
    We have updated the 341 Debtor Questionnaire and the Questions to be Asked at the 341 by the Debtor Attorney forms.  The latest versions of both can be found in the 341 Calendar page.
  • Updated Who Does What (effective 3/4/2024)
    Our Who Does What has been updated to reflect changes in the Case Analyst department.    
  • 341 and Court Calendars
    Click HERE to review the call-in information and case lists for upcoming dockets
  • Debtor Attorneys and the National Data Center
    Click here for an annoucement regarding the our office using the National Data Center to send documents and how the NDC can help debtor attorneys.  Also see our Forms directory for a document on how the NDC can help you.
  • New "no look fee" amount.
    Click here for a joint memo from the Detroit Chapter 13 Trustees regarding "no look" fees.
  • Now Accepting TFS Payments
    The Office of Chapter 13 Trustee – David W. Ruskin is now accepting online payments via TFS, a secure, online payment service company.   Please see the Payments Online page of this site for more information.
  • Notice Regarding Stipulations
  • Revised Questions to Ask Debtors at the 341 (UPDATED March 2023)
    Click here to read about the revised "Questions to ask at the 341" form.
  • Ford Motor Payroll Deduction Address