(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), all aid, relief, or assistance given under this act is absolutely inalienable by any assignment, sale, garnishment, execution, or otherwise, and in the event of bankruptcy, shall not pass to or through any trustee or other person acting on behalf of creditors.
    (2) To the extent allowed by law, if a judgment is entered against a recipient for damages arising from the recipient’s breach of an oral or written lease agreement for rental housing and the judgment creditor submits a certified copy of the judgment to the department, the department shall deduct up to 10% of each cash grant for which the department determines the recipient is eligible and convey that amount to the judgment creditor until the judgment is satisfied. This subsection applies only to a lease agreement for property that has not been found to be in violation of an applicable housing code by a state or local agency authorized to enforce housing laws. This subsection does not create a cause of action against the department for damages caused by a recipient’s breach of a lease agreement.

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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 400.63

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
    (3) If a federal waiver is necessary to implement subsection (2), the department shall promptly seek the waiver. In the absence of a necessary waiver, the department shall apply this section only to recipients of assistance programs financed entirely by state or local revenues.
    (4) The judgment creditor shall pay a $1.00 processing fee to the department for each payment made under subsection (2). The department may deduct the processing fee from each payment made to the judgment creditor.
    (5) The department shall include in its biennial report required under section 17 the number of cases and the dollar amounts deducted under subsection (2). The report shall include statewide totals and information broken down by county.
    (6) As used in this section, “recipient” means an individual receiving direct cash assistance under this act.