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Revisions to Official Forms effective December 1, 2007

The Judicial Conference of the United States approved revisions to certain Bankruptcy Official Forms, to take effect December 1, 2007.
 
Attorneys are encouraged to contact their software providers to ensure access to the new forms by the effective date. As with other recent form changes, attorneys using old forms on and after December 1, 2007 will receive an order on partial filing, requiring amendment of the petition and schedules using updated forms.
 
The following is a list of the revised forms, with a brief description of the change(s) made:
 
          1.       Official Form 1,Voluntary Petition: The ranges for the estimated number of creditors, estimated assets, and estimated liabilities are amended to assist the courts in fulfilling the new statistical reporting requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 159. The “Statement by a Debtor Who Resides as a Tenant of Residential Property” is changed to a “Certification,” and a checkbox is provided for the debtor to certify that he/she has served the landlord with the certification, as required by 11 U.S.C. § 362(l). A notice is provided advising the attorney that the attorney’s signature constitutes a certification that the attorney has no knowledge after an inquiry that the information in the schedules filed with the petition is incorrect.
 
          2.       Official Forms 3A, Application to Pay Filing Fee in Installments, and 3B, Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee for Individuals Who Cannot Pay the Filing Fee in Full or in Installments: These forms are amended to make minor stylistic changes.
 
          3.       Official Form 4, List of Creditors Holding 20 Largest Unsecured Claims: This form is amended to require that a minor included in the list of creditors be identified only by the minor’s initials.
 
          4.       Official Form 5, Involuntary Petition: This form is amended to require the use of only the last four digits of an individual debtor’s taxpayer-identification number.
 
          5.       Official Form 6, Summary of Schedules and Statistical Summary of Certain Liabilities, including Schedules A through J: These forms are amended to require only the initials of a minor instead of the minor’s full name and to make stylistic changes. Schedules I and J of Official Form 6 are amended to include a statement advising debtors that the income and expense amounts on the schedules may differ from the income and expense amounts listed on the means test forms. The Declaration sheet in Official Form 6 is amended to clarify the reference to page totals.
 
          6.       Official Form 7, Statement of Financial Affairs: This form is amended to require that a minor be identified by initials instead of full name on the form.
 
          7.       Official Forms 9A through 9I, Notice of Commencement of Case, Meeting of Creditors and Deadlines: These forms are amended to include only the last four digits of any individual taxpayer-identification number in accordance with Rule 9037. In addition to stylistic changes, the forms are revised to clarify the references to creditors with foreign addresses.
 
          8.       Official Form 10, Proof of Claim: This form is amended to provide more accurate addresses for transmittal of payments and notices, indicate that a particular proof of claim has been replaced, and update the Instructions and Definitions portions of the form.
 
          9.       Official Form 16A, Caption (Full), and Official Form 18, Discharge of Debtor in a Chapter 7 Case: These forms are amended to require the use of only the last four digits of an individual debtor’s taxpayer identification number.
 
          10.     Proposed Official Form 19, Declaration and Signature of Non-Attorney Bankruptcy Petition Preparer: This form replaces Forms 19A and 19B, which are proposed to be abrogated.
 
          11.     Local Form Statement of Social-Security Number: This form is amended to direct a taxpayer who does not have a Social Security number to provide a taxpayer identification number on the form.
 
          12.     Official Form 24, Certification to Court of Appeals by All Parties: This form is amended to include a signature line for the appellee and the appellee’s attorney.

            While changes to Official Forms 22A, 22B, and 22C, Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means-Test Calculation in Chapter 7, 11, and 13 Cases were originally proposed, these changes have been deferred pending incorporation into the forms of pending changes in the IRS standards.

            Changes were also made to Official Form 23, Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Post-Petition Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management. The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota does not require use of this form, and, therefore, additional information about the revisions to it is not included here.

Publication Date: 
March 3, 2008