By Jill Michaux, Kansas Bankruptcy Attorney

Changes to four official bankruptcy forms went into effect December 1, 2012.

• Form B7 – Statement of Financial Affairs
• Form B9 – Notice of Commencement
• Form B10 – Proof of Claim
• Form B21 – Statement of Social Security Number

Form B7 – Statement of Financial Affairs was changed for the definition of “insider” in question 3.c. payments to insiders and question 23 withdrawals from partnerships or distributions by corporations to insiders.

The 2012 rules committee note advises the “definition of “insider” is amended to conform to the statutory definition of the term. See 11 U.S.C. §101(31). Under the Code definition, ownership of 5% or more of the voting shares of a corporate debtor does not automatically make the owner an insider of the corporation. And in order to be an affiliate of the debtor and an insider on that basis, ownership or control of at least 20% of the outstanding voting securities of the debtor is required. 11 U.S.C. §101(2). The phrase “any owner of 5% or more of the voting or equity securities” is therefore deleted. Because § 101(31) provides that a person in control of a debtor corporation is an insider, that term is substituted for the deleted phrase.”

Form B9 – Notice of Commencement of Case under the Bankruptcy Code, Meeting of Creditors, and Deadlines.  Eleven versions of Form B9 were “updated on the first page and in the claims box on the explanation page to remind creditors that the form should not be included with or attached to any proof of claim or other filing in the case. Stylistic changes to the form are also made.

Form B10 – Proof of Claim.  “Section 7 of the form is amended to remind filers of the need to attach documents required by Rule 3001(c) for claims based on an open-end or revolving consumer credit agreement or claims secured by a security interest in the debtor’s principal residence. Section 8 is revised to delete the direction that an authorized agent attach a power of attorney if one exists. Rule 9010(c) does not require that an agent’s authority to file a proof of claim be evidenced by a power of attorney.”

Form B21 – Statement of Social Security Number was amended to remind debtors that, in accordance with Rule 1007(f), it should be submitted to the court, but not filed on the public docket. This rule protects an individual debtor’s social-security number or taxpayer-identification number from becoming accessible to the public.

The forms changes were approved by the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  The rulemaking process for the federal courts starts with suggestions for changes and includes public comments.

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Jill A. Michaux practices law with the firm of Neis & Michaux, P.A., of Topeka, Kansas. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree and worked as a newspaper reporter and then did public relations work for a trade association before attending Washburn University Law School. She graduated with Dean’s Honors in 1982, hanging out a shingle the next day.

She merged her law practice with the practice of her husband, Mark W. Neis, in 1984 and formed Neis & Michaux, P.A. Mark and Jill are the only Topeka attorneys, and two of seven in Kansas, to be board certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Bankruptcy Certification.

Michaux was a founding member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and served on its board of directors six years from 1993 to 1999. She is a founding member and past president of Topeka Area Bankruptcy Council and the Kansas Bar Association Bankruptcy and Insolvency Section. She is a member of the Woman Attorneys Association of Topeka, the Kansas Woman Attorneys Association, and the Topeka Bar Association. She served as judge for the Municipal Court of the City of Rossville, Kansas, for 16 years until 2010.

She blogs for the Bankruptcy Law Network as well as her own site, Kansas Bankruptcy Information.

Chief Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., appointed Michaux to a three-year term on the Advisory Committee on Bankrupty Rules November 30, 2012.