Can I record a conversation with someone face-to-face without their knowledge in MI?

[phoenyx]

I own an S-Corporation incorporated in Michigan that also operates in Michigan. I'm soon revoking it's charter and closing the business, and due to personally guaranteeing most of its debt, I'm going to be filing personal Chatper 7 bankruptcy.

I started allowed my friend to purchase from my business on a credit line. At first, the credit line was always paid on time. However, over time, it's grown to about $6000, and hasn't been paid on for some time now.

It would really help if this money was paid back to my company, to pay down debts that I'm liable for such as the business' employee withholding taxes.

I should have always gotten a signature for each purchase, however I didn't since things had been going smoothly. (OOPS!) I don't think a court would take my business's records as proof of transactions without signatures (maybe I'm wrong...) The only way I can think of getting proof he acknowledges the transactions is to tape record a face-to-face conversation about the balance. I'm sure he wouldn't be willing to talk about it if he knew he was being recorded.

Would doing so be legal in Michigan and admissible in Michigan courts? I know recording over the phone complicates the legality, so I would do it in person instead of over the phone. I've had some "heart-to-heart I need the money" conversations. I'm going to have another soon but I don't think it will help.

[twuoo]

I'm fairly sure recording something without someone's knowledge is not admissible. However, you could hire a private detective maybe and that would be admissible.

Somebody else can chime in....

[krielly]

Even if you COULD prove he owes you 6K, I'm not sure collecting it would do much good if you are getting ready to file a 7. Not sure how you could exempt that money to protect it from the trustee. Even if you used it to pay off some debt, I imagine it would be seen as a preferential payment, and seized by the trustee............
Others may offer more advice....including an attorney. I would set up some free consults.

[phoenyx]

I'm fairly sure recording something without someone's knowledge is not admissible. However, you could hire a private detective maybe and that would be admissible.

Somebody else can chime in....

Yeah, looks like in Michigan recording the conversation would be illegal. I posted the question on answers.yahoo.com also, and someone provided the link http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ which cites specific laws for each state regarding the legality of taping both face-to-face conversations and telephone conversations. In Michigan, both parrties have to consent to the taping of a face-to-face conversation.

[phoenyx]

Even if you COULD prove he owes you 6K, I'm not sure collecting it would do much good if you are getting ready to file a 7. Not sure how you could exempt that money to protect it from the trustee. Even if you used it to pay off some debt, I imagine it would be seen as a preferential payment, and seized by the trustee............
Others may offer more advice....including an attorney. I would set up some free consults.

He owes the S-Corporation the money, not me individually. My hope was that if he were to pay back the S-Corporation, that it could pay those funds toward its IRS and State of Michigan tax debts -- in turn reducing the debt that I can't dissolve in my Chapter 7.

The S-Corporation isn't going to go through corporate bankruptcy, so there shouldn't be any issue of preferential payments from its operations. Even if that issue came up, IRS and State of Michigan seem to get first dibs over unsecured creditors, at least from what I can tell.