Amendment to Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Official Forms Changes Effective 12/1/2013

Monday, October 28, 2013

The following changes to Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007, 4004, 5009, 9006, 9013, and 9014 will become effective on December 1, 2013 unless Congress decides otherwise:

Rule 1007(b)(7) is revised to relieve individual debtors of the obligation to file Official Form 23, Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management if the provider of an instructional course concerning personal financial management directly notifies the court that the debtor has completed the course.

Rule 4004(c)(1)(H) is amended to provide that the court must delay entering a discharge for a debtor who has not filed Official Form 23, only if the debtor was in fact required to do so under Rule 1007(b)(7).

Rule 5009(b) is revised to reflect the amendment of Rule 1007(b)(7). Rule 5009(b) currently requires the clerk to send a warning notice to an individual debtor who has not filed Official Form 23 within 45 days after the first date set for the meeting of creditors. The proposed amendment would require the clerk to send the notice only if the course provider has not already notified the court of the debtor’s completion of the course and the debtor has failed to file the statement in 45 days.

Rule 9006(d), which prescribes time limits for the service of motions and responses, is expanded to cover the timing of the service of any written response to a motion, and not just opposing affidavits.

Rule 9013, which addresses the form and service of motions, is amended to provide a cross-reference to the time periods in Rule 9006(d) and to call greater attention to the default deadlines for motion practice.

Rule 9014, which addresses contested matters, is amended to provide a cross-reference to the time periods in Rule 9006(d) for the service of motions and responses.

The following amendments to the Official Bankruptcy Forms will take effect on December 1, 2013:

Official Forms 3A (Application for Individuals to Pay the Filing Fee in Installments), 3B (Application to Have the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waived), 6I (Schedule I: Your Income),and 6J (Schedule J: Your Expenses), which are only used in individual debtor cases, are the first of the restyled forms developed as part of the Bankruptcy Rules Advisory Committee’s ongoing forms modernization project. The revisions to these forms make no significant change in substantive content.

Official Forms 6 - Summary (Summary of Schedules) and 27 (Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet) are revised with updated line number cross references to Schedules I and J.

Official Form 23 (Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Postpetition Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management) is revised to reflect the change to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007(b)(7) effective December 1, 2013, by including an instruction stating the debtor should complete and file the form only if the provider of an instructional course concerning personal financial management has not already notified the court of the debtor’s completion of the course.