Rule 1 Commencement of Action

If you want to stop a non-judicial foreclosure and move it into the court system, you start by filing a special form with the circuit court in the county where the property is located. This form is called a certified conversion petition, and it needs to follow the layout of Form A, which is attached to these rules.

When you file this petition, you also need to name everyone else involved in the loan or the property who isn't already filing with you. This includes the company or party trying to foreclose, as well as anyone else connected to the loan, like co-signers or guarantors. Naming them makes them official respondents in the case, which means they'll be part of the court process going forward.

This step is just the starting point. Filing the petition correctly, with the right information and the right people named, is what allows the case to move from a non-judicial foreclosure track to a judicial one, where a judge oversees the process.