2015-2016 Amendment to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure

The latest amendment to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure will go into effect in just a week or so, on December 1, 2015. This year there is only one change being implemented, and that is to Rule 1007. It’s only a slight change in sub-sections (a)(1) and (a)(2) regarding the wording referring to the Official Forms. Previously, the Rule listed the schedules as “D, E, F, G, and H,” but now they’re listed as “D, E/F, G, and H,” which acknowledges that schedules E and F have been merged into Schedule E/F.

More information from the Judicial Conference of the United States:

Subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2) of Rule 1007 require the filing at the outset of a case of the names and addresses of all entities included on “Schedules D, E, F, G, and H.” The restyled schedules for individual cases that were published for comment in August 2013 use slightly different designations. Under the new numbering and lettering protocol of the proposed forms, the schedules referred to in Rule 1007(a)(1) and (a)(2) will become Official Forms 106 D, E/F, G, and H—reflecting a combination of what had been separate Schedules E and F into a single Schedule E/F. In order to make Rule 1007(a) consistent with the new form designations, the Advisory Committee voted unanimously at the fall meeting to propose a conforming amendment to subdivision (a)(1) and (a)(2) of that rule.

The schedules and other individual forms published in 2013 (other than the means test forms) are proposed to take effect on December 1, 2015—a year later than normal—in order to coincide with the effective date of the restyled non-individual forms. That timeline means that if the Standing Committee approves without publication the conforming amendments to Rule 1007(a)(1) and (a)(2) at this or the June 2014 meeting, the rule amendments will be able to go into effect at the same time as the forms.