What’s new on LegalConsumer.com
Here’s what we’ve updated on the website recently. Check it out!
New April 1, 2023 Means Test Median Income Amounts Incorporated Into the Means Test Calculator
In April and November, the justice department updates median income figures for the bankruptcy mean test twice a year.
Expense allowances are updated every May.
So this is the one month a year each year when we’re using last year’s expense allowances with this year’s income figures — until May when they update the expense figures.
New Exemption Amounts in Michigan updated April 1, 2023
Michigan’s exemption limits are updated for inflation every three years. This is one of those years.
What’s new in consumer law
Medicaid expires unless you reapply
Covid rules kept people on Medicaid with no requirement of proof of continuing eligibility.
That changed on April 1, 2023.
Now, your Medicaid and CHIP Coverage will not be renewed unless you can prove you’re eligible.
Read about it here.
Legal Tech: AI chat seems to be good at navigating bureaucracy, corporate and government
Forecasters have long said that the legal profession is one of the prime targets that could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, Donotpay.com, which build itself as the world’s first “robot lawyer”, is morphing its business model from fighting in court to fighting corporate administrative bureaucracies and telemarketers.
AI’s ability to nag on a point like a dog on the bone seems to make it well-suited to navigate the labyrinthian ways of corporate and government bureaucracy.
Its ability to digest complex rules makes it well suited for navigating the ins and outs of technicalities that can bore a normal human to tears.
Maybe AI will be our salvation from long hold times and bureaucratic inefficiency and let us move on to creating real stuff
Student Loan Fresh Start Default Reset Available now, for a limited time
Student loan debtors will have one year to get their defaults reset and get on board with better repayment plans and they might otherwise qualify for.
The Biden administration’s Fresh Start program rolls back regulations that would normally prevent defaulting student loan borrowers from participating in income driven repayment plans.
Under the fresh start program, Those borrowers now can participate in such plans if they act quickly.
This ability to overlook past defaults will end  one year after the student loan forbearance period ends.
Which Loans Are Eligible
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Eligible
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Not eligible
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Enroll In an Affordable Repayment Plan
When you get out of default, you will choose a type of payment plan to repay your loans. Most borrowers enrolling in Fresh Start (about 80%) choose an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.
An IDR plan customizes your monthly payment to your income. You will never pay more than 10–20% of your income. Half of borrowers on Fresh Start are paying $0 a month, and 60% of Fresh Start borrowers are paying less than $50 a month.
Benefits of Fresh Start
Automatic Benefits
All defaulted borrowers temporarily have these benefits. But you must use Fresh Start to get out of default to keep these benefits long-term. Otherwise, you will stop getting these benefits one year after the payment pause ends.
