On December 1, 2013, changes to the national bankruptcy rules, forms and fees will take effect.
The following summary of the rules, forms and fee changes is provided solely as a convenience to attorneys and parties participating in bankruptcy cases and proceedings in the District of Minnesota and is not intended as a complete statement of the changes. For complete information on the changes to the rules, forms and fees, please consult:
For rule changes:
For form changes:
For fee changes:
Rules changes:
• Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007(b)(7), 4004(c)(1) and 5009(b): The revisions to these rules allow an approved provider of an instructional course concerning personal financial management to file the “Certificate of Debtor Education” directly to the case. If the course provider does not file the certificate, the debtor must do so within the time periods prescribed in the rules or the debtor’s case may be closed without discharge.
• Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 9006(d), 9013 and 9014: The proposed amendments to Rule 9006(d) expand the coverage of that subsection to address the timing of service of any written response to a motion. The amendments to Rules 9013 and 9014 provide cross-references to the time periods in Rule 9006(d).
Forms changes:
The forms changes are largely a result of the national “Forms Modernization” project, the goal of which is to make the forms easier to read and understand, so as to obtain more complete and accurate responses and reduce errors.
The following forms and related instructions are amended:
• Official Form 3A: Application for Individuals to Pay the Filing Fee in Installments
• Official Form 3B: Application to Have the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waived
• Official Forms 6I and 6J: Schedules I and J
- Line 1 of Schedule J requires a joint debtor living in a separate household to file a separate Schedule J form and check the appropriate box on the new form
- When the box is checked, attorney filers should follow the form instructions and ensure that total expenses on Form B6 (Summary of Schedules) and Form 6J for the debtor include the amounts for both the debtor and joint debtor. The joint debtor’s Schedule J should be included in the .pdf document with the petition and other schedules.
- New Schedules I and J allow for submission of a supplement when appropriate, indicated by checking the “supplement” checkbox
- Supplemental schedules allow for capture of additional information regarding a debtor’s post-petition income and expenses as of a specific date and may be submitted in connection with plan modification or in support of a reaffirmation agreement
- A new CM/ECF event for Supplemental Schedules I/J may be found under Bankruptcy/Commencement Events/Amendments to facilitate the filing of these supplemental schedules
• Official Form 6: Summary of Schedules and
Official Form 27: Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet
• These forms have been modified to reflect changes in numbering of paragraphs in Schedule I and J
PLEASE NOTE that, if outdated forms are submitted, the Clerk’s Office will issue an Order on partial case filing or other deficiency notice requesting submission of the correct version of the form(s).
Fee Changes:
• New fee of $176 for Motions to sell property of the estate free and clear of liens
• Fee change for retrieval of a file from Archives:
$ 64 for the first file or box
For retrievals involving multiple boxes, $39 for each additional box
• Fee change regarding returned checks:
$ 53 for “any payment returned or denied” for insufficient funds
Publication Date:
November 26, 2013