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V2007

This release contains the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) issued its report on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers. On January 19, 2007, the Executive Office of the United States Trustee (UST) posted an adjustment to the State Median Family Income figures to reflect the percentage change in the CPI. The adjusted Census Bureau figures and the 2007 administrative expenses multipliers will be applied by the UST Program effective with petitions filed on or after February 1, 2007. The complete tables can be found on the Department of Justice website. Please note the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has not yet established a planned release date for the 2007 National and Local expense standards. We will update you when the IRS releases those numbers and they are posted to the UST website. Also in this release are the April 1, 2007 changes to the Official Forms with regard to the automatic adjustments to the dollar amounts stated in various provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and in one provision of Title 28 U.S.C. that 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 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.

Lastly, there have been numerous updates to district-specific Chapter 13 plans, program modifications and enhancements, and new features like the B22 integration with Schedule I.

V2006

This release contains the new interim forms and should be installed on October 17, 2005. There will undoubtedly be several updates in the coming months as Congress and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts work through the inconsistencies in this legislation. Make sure your EZ-UpKeep™ subscription is current to access the updates quickly online. The following Official Forms have been updated or are completely new forms:

Voluntary Petition – Official Form 1. First, and probably most apparent, the form is now three pages in length instead of two to include additional information required under the reform legislation. Chapter 15, credit counseling, and a statement for tenant residential property are new check boxes.

Summary of Schedules – Official Form 6Summ2. For statistical purposes primarily, the new Summary of Schedules includes a new page to collect information regarding domestic support obligations listed on Schedule E and those not listed on Schedule E, taxes and other certain debts owed to governmental units, death and/or personal injury claims while debtor was intoxicated, student loan obligations, and pension or profit sharing obligations.

Schedule B – Official Form 6B. Two new categories of property have been added, which results in a new numbering schema. Number 11- “Interests in an education IRA” and number 24 – “Customer lists or other compilations containing personally identifiable information” are new. These two additions have caused some frequently used categories like automobiles (23) to be renumbered. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the new numbering sequence so as not to improperly select a category.

Schedule C – Official Form 6C. The exemption schedule now includes a box to indicate if the debtor intends to take a homestead exemption that exceeds $125,000.

Schedule E – Official Form 6E. The Domestic Support Obligations category was repositioned to the first priority among unsecured priority claims. Additionally, a new priority claim category for death and/or personal injury while intoxicated was created and added to the end of the list of unsecured priority claims.

Schedule F – Official Form 6F. Although there have not been any changes made to the actual language on Schedule F, the statistical information sheet may require the indication of certain debts included on this schedule.  The claim tab in the liabilities window now allow for that indication.

Schedule G – Official Form 6G. The language on Schedule G omitted the phrase relating to the inclusion of the party on the creditor matrix. EZ-Filing will automatically add any party listed on Schedule G to the creditor matrix.

 Schedule H – Official Form 6H. The form is amended to extend from 6 years to 8 years the time period for which a spouse of a debtor resided in a community property state pursuant to the 2005 amendments to § 727(a)(8).

Schedule I – Official Form 6I. Current Income of Individual Debtor(s) is amended to require the income of a nondebtor spouse to be reported in cases filed under Chapters 7 and 11. Line numbers have been added to assist the debtor in calculating the totals. New subtotal lines from other sources of income and a new total monthly income line provide for this form to be used in conjunction with Schedule J to satisfy the requirements of § 521(a)(1)(B)(v), which was added to the code in 2005.

Schedule J – Official Form 6J. New to Schedule J is the Statement of Monthly Net Income at the bottom of the form in the area that used to be required for Chapter 12 and 13 cases only. This information will be calculated automatically for you.

Additionally, Schedules A, B, C, and D were amended to remove the word “market” from the columns in which the debtor reports the value of various kinds of property. Amendments to § 506 of the code specify that “replacement value” must be used in connection with certain property. Schedules D,E,F,G, and H are changed to include the exclusion of minor children’s names.

Statement of Financial Affairs – Official Form 7. Along with the disclosure not to include the name and address of a minor child, this form has been amended to clarify the definition of “in business”; question 1 has been amended to include all sources of income; question 3 has been changed to accommodate § 547(c); transfers within 90 days for primarily non-consumer debts have increased to $5000; question 10 increases the reachback period to two years for a trustee to avoid a fraudulent transfer; question 15 increases to three years the preterition time period for which the debtor must disclose the addresses of all premises occupied by the debtor; and question 16 increases to eight years the period before filing which the debtor is required to disclose the name of the debtors spouse or any former spouse(s) who resides or resided with the debtor in a community property state.

Chapter 7 Individual Debtor’s Statement of Intention – Official Form 8. The form was amended to add a section covering personal property subject to an unexpired lease and an option labeled “lease will be assumed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(h)(1)(A)” to the choices a debtor may make.

Proof of Claim – Official Form 10. The new Proof of Claim was updated to include the new priority types.

In addition to the modifications to the existing Official Forms, the following new forms were implemented:

Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee – Official Form 3B.  a waiver may be granted by the court of the Chapter 7 filing fee if the debtor is 150% below the official poverty line as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Declaration and Signature of Non-Attorney Bankruptcy Petition Preparer (11 U.S.C. § 110) – Official Form 19A. The certification has been renamed to a “declaration” and is amended to include material mandated by amendments to § 110.

Notice to Debtor By Non-Attorney Bankruptcy Petition Preparer – Official Form 19B. This notice is required to be given to the debtor by non-attorney petition preparers. It includes examples of advice a preparer may not give and states that the preparer is not an attorney and must not give legal advice.

Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation – Official Form 22A, 22B, 22C. These three forms, two of which are still under review as of the date of this letter, are used to calculate the Current Monthly Income of the debtor and determine their “means” to repay at least some of their debt. Successfully passing this calculation enables a debtor to file a Chapter 7. On the other hand, if the debtor is determined to have the “means” to repay a certain portion of their debts, they are required to file a Chapter 13. This section of the reform legislation is very complex and confusing at best. The EZ-Filing® program will compute the figures and complete the form for you. However, we highly recommend that you review § 707(b)(2)(A), § 1325(b)(2) and (3), and § 101(10A) to familiarize yourself with the calculations.

Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management – Official Form 23. Provided for by §§ 727(a)(11) and 1328(g)(1), this new form indicates to the clerk of the court that the debtor has completed an instructional course in personal financial management.

Rules – There are several Rule changes that were implemented to accommodate the new filing requirements of the BAPCPA. The following is a list of the major revisions to primarily consumer debt rules:

Rule 1006 – For the first time on a nationwide basis, the amendment to this rule authorizes the courts to waive the payment of filing fees by debtors. Permission is also given to allow the filing fee in installments even if there was a payment made to debtor counsel in connection with the case.

Rule 1007 – Amended to reflect the expanding obligations of debtors to file a variety of documents and materials, this rule includes the filing of current monthly income statements, payment advices, education income retirement accounts, certificates of completed credit counseling, and other forms to implement the means test.

Rule 1017 – This rule implements the changes under § 707(b) that permits parties in interest to move to dismiss consumer Chapter 7 cases as abusive.

Rule 4002 – Amended to accommodate the expanding obligations of the debtor to provide additional evidence of personal identity, this rule implements the requirements in BAPCPA for the submission of current income and recent Federal income tax returns or tax transcripts.

Rule 4003 – Section 522(q) imposes a $125,000 limit on a state homestead exemption if the debtor has been convicted of a felony or owes a debt arising from certain causes of action. This rule is amended to the reflect the addition of § 522(q).

Rule 4004 – Conformed to implement several provisions of the Act, primarily this rule allows for the postponement of discharge pending the debtor’s completion of a financial management program.

Rule 4006 – This rule implements the requirement of the debtor to complete a course in personal financial management as a condition of discharge.

For more information on V2007, or to place an order, call us toll-free at 1-800-998-2424!