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Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.7.8 The Summary of Schedules and Statistical Summary

Accompanying the schedules is a form summarizing debts, property, income, and expenses. A summary of certain statistical information, also included in the form, is used by the courts solely to gather statistics mandated by law. The form is self-explanatory. After the summary is filled out, it is usually inserted at the front of the schedules for filing, or elsewhere if required by local practice.179 It requires the debtor to compute the total of amounts listed for certain types of debts that are often nondischargeable.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.10 Filing Debtor Payment Advices

The 2005 amendments added section 521(a)(1)(B)(iv) to the Code, which requires, unless the court orders otherwise, that the debtor file copies of all payment advices or other evidence of payment received from employers within sixty days before the petition was filed.214 Bankruptcy Rule 1007(b)(1)(E) and (c) requires that the payment advices be filed within fourteen days after filing the petition (although the court can extend the time) and that all but the last four digits of the debtor’s Social Security number should be redacted from these d

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.12.1 Generally

The most important document filed in a chapter 13 case is usually the debtor’s proposed plan. This plan, which only the debtor can propose, sets out how the debtor wishes to reorganize their financial situation. Its purpose, then, is to make clear how the debtor desires payments and distributions to be made in the case. The plan may be modified as of right before confirmation and also, with the court’s permission, after confirmation in certain circumstances.242

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.12.2 Form of Plan

The form of the plan is prescribed by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Rule 3015(c) requires that the national form plan, Official Form 113, be used unless the judicial district where the case is filed has adopted a local form plan as provided in Rule 3015.1.243 If a local form plan has been adopted, the local rules may, and almost always will, require that it be used.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.13.2 Disclosure of Fees

In every case, under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2016(b), a disclosure of fees paid or promised to the debtor’s attorneys must be filed. The form must also state whether the attorney is sharing fees with any other entity.299 The purpose of this form is to allow the court and the United States trustee, who also must receive a copy, to monitor fees to make sure they are reasonable.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.13.5 Motion for Extension of Time to File Required Documents

If the schedules, statements, plan, or other documents required to be filed within fourteen days of the petition cannot be filed on time, a motion for additional time must be filed or the case may be dismissed.309 A simple form for this purpose can easily be prepared for repeated use.310 Such an application should show cause for the extension and be served on the trustee, if any, and the United States trustee.311 Most courts routinely grant a two t

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.1.1 Some General Principles

Once it has been decided that bankruptcy is appropriate in a particular case, the remaining work in most cases is relatively routine. A good deal of it involves preparation of the necessary papers for the initial filing. This Chapter provides a detailed step-by-step description of how to prepare and file the forms used in a typical bankruptcy case.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.1.2 Obtaining the Forms

There was a time when bankruptcy practitioners, as well as pro se debtors, made use of bankruptcy forms printed by various commercial suppliers. However, there were many inconveniences in using the preprinted forms, especially after the advent of computerized word processing. In recent years, as the Official Forms became available online and the courts have required electronic filing of documents, preprinted forms have virtually disappeared.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.1.3 Computer Programs

It is common for offices that handle significant numbers of bankruptcy cases to use word processing programs, or to purchase special computer programs, that generate bankruptcy forms based on input data. There are a wide range of such programs now on the market and, of course, they vary in cost and quality.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.1.4 Electronic Filing of Documents

All of the bankruptcy courts have adopted procedures and systems to permit the electronic filing of documents.7 Generally, electronic filing is required of all bankruptcy attorneys.8 It is also possible to access any electronically filed document (and sometimes other documents) online and thereby obtain a copy of the document without a trip to the bankruptcy court or paying for copies.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.2.3 Timing the Filing of Multiple Cases

Offices filing several bankruptcies during a short time period may wish to check with the clerk of the bankruptcy court as to how the date of filing affects the dates of later proceedings, such as the section 341 meeting of creditors. Especially when the site of the meeting is located at some distance from the office, it is obviously a more efficient use of resources to have more than one meeting scheduled for a single date. Such scheduling can often be accomplished by filing several bankruptcy cases simultaneously.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.3 Statement About Your Social Security Numbers (Official Form 121)

The debtor must submit to the clerk, with the petition, a verified statement that sets forth the debtor’s full Social Security number or states that the debtor does not have a Social Security number.69 This statement is not made a part of the official court file, so the debtor’s Social Security number is not available to the general public or online. However, the Social Security number is included in the notice of the section 341(a) creditors meeting that is mailed to creditors.70

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.6 Notice of Chapters Under Which Relief Is Available and Other Information

Section 342(b) of the Code requires the clerk of the bankruptcy court to give each consumer debtor a notice describing each chapter under which such individual may proceed, the services of credit counseling agencies, and the possible consequences of bankruptcy fraud prior to the filing of the petition. To meet this requirement, some courts require the debtor to submit a certification that this notice was received.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.3.7.1 Generally

Each individual debtor who files a bankruptcy case, under any chapter, must submit schedules A through J (Official Form 106). The main purpose of these schedules is to give an exact picture of the debtor’s assets, liabilities, and budget, as of the date of filing, in a uniform manner that facilitates administration of the case. This section describes generally how the schedules are to be completed, but local rules may impose additional requirements, such as a requirement to alphabetize creditors.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 7.4 Signing, Verification, and Filing

Once all of the forms are prepared and reviewed, they must be signed by the attorney of record, the debtor(s), or both, depending on the form, and some forms must be verified by the debtor(s). In appropriate circumstances, a petition may be signed and filed by another on behalf of a debtor pursuant to a power of attorney or as next friend.313

Repossessions: 14.2.9.2 Rebate of Third-Party Charges

Leases may include within the monthly lease payment certain third party-charges that should be rebated on early termination, such as service contracts, credit insurance, and GAP insurance. These third-party charges are earned over the full term of the lease, and early termination should result in a partial rebate.

Repossessions: 14.2.9.3 Extra Penalties

Leases may include early termination penalties in addition to charges based on the adjusted lease balance or remaining payments methods, such as three times the monthly lease payment.

Repossessions: 14.2.9.4 Taxes Not Paid to Taxing Authority

Lessor early termination formulas are unreasonable if they charge for taxes not owed to taxing authorities. Under the remaining payments method, the consumer should owe for remaining pre-tax payments only, and not for taxes included in those payments.213