New Bankruptcy Forms Now in Effect, as of December 1, 2015

All Official Forms to initiate a bankruptcy case have been revamped, and apply to all cases filed as of December 1, 2015. To help practitioners fill in the new bankruptcy forms, NCLC has created online sample completed forms to institute a chapter 7 case. NCLC staff attorney John Rao, a former member of the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules and a NACBA board member, has not only filled in the new forms for a sample case, but included extensive annotations explaining how to (and not to) complete the forms. (You must be logged into our bankruptcy treatise to see the completed and annotated forms.)

Click on a note number in the form to see the annotation and then click on the annotation number to return to the form, or download and print the annotations to have handy while you review the form online or printed out. The completed and annotated forms now online include the petition (new Form 101), an application for a fee waiver (new Form 103B), the schedules (new Form 106), the statement of financial affairs (new Form 107), statement of current income (new Form 122A-1), and other forms to initiate a chapter 7 case.

This online update to Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice Appx. D.2 includes for each new form (that can be copy/pasted, downloaded or even emailed):

• General information about the new form
• The form, with information filled in based on a sample fact pattern
• Annotations explaining the choices in completing the form
• Official Form instructions
• The 2015 Advisory Committee Note on the form
• Earlier Advisory Committee Notes on the prior version of the form.

The other Official Forms have also been revised and those relevant to consumer bankruptcies are reprinted in blank in Appx. D.3, with relevant instructions, committee notes and other information. Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice Chapter 7, "Preparing and Filing the Papers" has also just been updated online to include even more information and advice on how to complete the new Official Forms.

NCLC will also post online in the near future the new official forms completed and with annotations to institute a sample chapter 13 case.

The Director’s Forms have also been significantly revised and renumbered, and new forms have been created concerning notice of final mortgage cure payments. All of these Director’s Forms also all went into effect as of December 1, 2015. NCLC has reprinted online at Appx. E all Director’s Forms relevant to a consumer bankruptcy practice.