There are several rules and forms changes as a result of amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure effective December 1, 2017.  A copy of the revised Uniform Local Bankruptcy Rules for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, effective December 1, 2017, is available under the Rules and Fees page of the Court’s website at www.msnb.uscourts.gov.
 
Local Chapter 13 Plan Form and Notice of Filing Chapter 13 Plan
The new Local Chapter 13 Plan Form is effective and mandatory December 1, 2017.  Any original chapter 13 plan filed on or after December 1, 2017, must be filed using this new local form.  However, if you amend a plan that was originally filed prior to December 1, the previous version of the plan should be filed.  In other words, the format of any amended plan should be consistent with the plan originally filed in the same case.
 
The Notice of Filing Chapter 13 Plan must be served with a copy of the plan pursuant to Miss. Bankr. L. R. 3015-1.  Creditors affected by a Motion to Avoid Lien or a Motion for Valuation of Collateral included in the plan must be served in compliance with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004.
 
Other Changes
A Notice of Objection must be filed and served with an Objection to Claim at least 30 days before a scheduled hearing or any deadline to request a hearing.  In contrast to our current process, effective December 1, 2017, the Court will schedule a hearing on Objections to Claim only in the event a response is filed.
 
The deadline to file a proof of claim will be reduced from 90 days after the first date set for the meeting of creditors to 70 days after the date the petition is filed.  This will impact notices served to creditors when amended schedules are filed by the debtor.
 
New and Revised Forms
As a result of the changes discussed above, the following forms have been added to the Bankruptcy Forms page of the Court’s website at www.msnb.uscourts.gov:

• Local Chapter 13 Plan Form (fillable PDF)
• Notice of Filing Chapter 13 Plan
• Notice of Objection to Claim
• Notice to Added Creditor

 
CM/ECF Shutdown
Public access to CM/ECF will be shutdown at 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2017, in order to complete system updates required to comply with rules and forms changes.  CM/ECF will not be equipped to process the new forms before December 1.  System access will be restored on December 1 as soon as the updates are complete.
 
The Court will provide additional information regarding changes to procedures and forms before December 1.  In the meantime, should you have any questions, please contact the Clerk’s office at (662) 369-2596.