Bankruptcy Rules Up-dates

Synopsis of Bankruptcy Rule Amendments Effective December 1, 2010
From the Mass. Bankruptcy court web site:
Rule 1007

Subdivision (a) is amended to shorten the time from 15 to seven (7) days for the debtor to file a list of creditors after the entry of an order for relief in an involuntary case.

Subdivision (c) is amended to extend from 45 to 60 days the time for individual debtors in chapter 7 to file the statement of completion of a course in personal financial management.

In conjunction with this change, Rule 5009 is amended to add a requirement that the clerk to provide notice to individual debtors in chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases that their case may be closed without the entry of a discharge if they fail to file a timely statement that they have completed a personal financial management course.


Rule 1019

is amended to provide that a new time period to object to a claim of exemption arises when a case is converted to chapter 7 from chapter 11, 12, or 13. The new time period does not arise, however, if the conversion occurs more than one year after the first order confirming a plan, or if the case was previously pending under chapter 7 and the objection period had expired in the original chapter 7 case.


Rule 4004

Subdivision (d) is amended to provide that objections to discharge under §§ 727(a)(8), (a)(9), and 1328(f) are commenced by motion and are treated as contested matters rather than adversary proceedings. Those sections relate to debtors who are time-barred from getting a discharge because of a prior case, for example, they filed a chapter 7 within 8 years of a prior chapter 7 in which they received a discharge or they filed a chapter 13 within 4 years of a prior chapter 7 in which they received a discharge .

At the same time, Rule 7001 is amended to except objections to discharge under §§ 727(a)(8), (a)(9), and 1328(f) from the listing of adversary proceedings .

Subdivision (c)(4) is added to the rule. It directs the court in chapter 11 and 13 cases to withhold the entry of the discharge if the debtor has not filed with the court a statement of completion of a course concerning personal financial management as required by Rule 1007(b)(7)

Form Changes

Certain forms were changed to comply with the changes in the rules.

The 341 notices will change to reflect the fact that certain objections to discharge can be filed as a motion rather than a complaint.

The means test forms will be amended to delete the terms “household” and “household size” and to replace them with “number of persons” or “family size.” This change brings the form in line with the IRS standards for the allowed amounts for certain items, which are based on numbers of persons, not household size


The following changes are in regards to Chapter 15 cases:

Rule 1007

Subdivision (c) requires a foreign representative in a chapter 15 case to file and give notice of the filing of a final report in the case.

Rule 1014

is amended to include chapter 15 cases among those subject to the rule that authorizes the court to determine where cases should proceed when multiple petitions involving the same debtor are pending.



Rule 1015

is amended to include chapter 15 cases among those subject to the rule that authorizes the court to order the consolidation or joint administration of cases.

Rule 1018

is amended to reflect the enactment of chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code in 2005. The rule is also amended to clarify that, in specifying the applicability of certain Part VII rules, it applies to contests over involuntary petitions, but it does not apply to matters that are merely related to a contested involuntary petition.

Rule 5012

New. It establishes the procedure in chapter 15 cases for obtaining court approval of an agreement or protocol regarding communications and the coordination of proceedings with cases involving the debtor pending in other countries.