Asked in Real Estate Law and Tax Law for Michigan

Q: I'm listed as a resident at an address I've never lived at.

I just did a search online and found that I'm listed as a resident at an address in Michigan. But - here's the fly in the ointment - I've never lived in Michigan. I've never even lived in the USA (I was born in and have been a citizen/resident of another country for my entire life). I suspect that an immediate family member who DOES live at the Michigan address has listed me as another resident at that address for nefarious reasons (the family member has a history of "gaming the system"). What can I do to protect myself and remove my name from the address? And is there anything in particular I should be concerned about (particularly as a non-American)?

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2 Lawyer Answers
David Soble
PREMIUM
David Soble
Answered
  • Farmington Hills, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: You can try to record an Affidavit of Suspected Fraud related to the property with the Register of Deeds. It would put anyone who was interested in the property on notice that you have no relationship to the home. Additionally, if you have a credit report, notify the credit reporting agencies that there may be an issue with fraud.

1 user found this answer helpful

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
Answered
  • Fowlerville, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: What sort of 'online search' did you do? Online sources are notoriously inaccurate so the fact you show up in one in a strange way means next to nothing in and of itself.

What is the context of the search"? (you own the place, you live there etc). You don't necessarily *need* to do anything to 'protect yourself' so long as YOU don't do anything nefarious with the information and it doesn't imply something that would cause you issues (in claiming citizenship benefits for your actual home country, for example).

Similarly what you need to do to remove the reference depends on where the reference appears. On Facebook? Challenge the information with that platform. In a credit report? Challenge it with the credit reporting agency. Etc. But again I wouldn't say that is 'required' in any way.

Unless and until you have evidence of actual fraud or bad intent (and the mere presence of a notoriously unreliable piece of data is not that!) I'd not worry about this. ....

1 user found this answer helpful

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