April 1, 2007 Form Change Update

On April 1, 2007, automatic adjustments to the dollar amounts stated in various provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and in one provision of Title 28 U.S.C., became effective. These dollar amounts apply to cases filed on or after April 1, 2007.

In the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994, as amended by BAPCPA in 2005, Congress provided for the automatic adjustment of these dollar amounts at three-year intervals commencing April 1, 1998. The relevant provisions are codified in § 104(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.

The adjustments reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the U.S. Department of Labor for the the three-year period ending December 31, 2006, and rounded to the nearest $25. On February 14, 2007 the Judicial Conference published the revised dollar amounts in volume 72, number 30, of the Federal Register, at page 7082, as required by § 104(b)(2).

The revised forms incorporating the changes are posted on the Bankruptcy Forms page of the Judiciary's website at www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.

These amended dollar amounts will affect the following:

• the eligibility of a debtor to file under Chapters 12 and 13
• certain maximum values of property that a debtor may claim as exempt
• the calculation of the "means test" for Chapter 7 debtors
• the duration of a Chapter 13 plan
• the definition of a small business debtor
• the minimum aggregate value of claims needed to commence an involuntary petition
• the value of luxury good and services deemed to be nondischargeable
• and where the trustee may commence certain proceedings to recover money judgment of property.