Free Form B 27 - Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet and Certification - Vermont

B27 (Official Form 27) (12/07)

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT District of Vermont In re: Case No. Chapter Debtor(s)

REAFFIRMATION AGREEMENT
COVER SHEET
This form must be completed in its entirety and filed within the time set under Rule 4008. It may be filed by any party to the reaffirmation agreement. The filer also must attach a copy of the reaffirmation agreement to this cover sheet.
Debtor's Name and Address Creditor's Name and Address

1. Amount of debt as of commencement of case: 2. Describe collateral, if any, securing debt:

3. Amount of debt being reaffirmed: 4. Repayment term of reaffirmation: 5. Monthly payments under reaffirmation: 6. Annual percentage rate under reaffirmation: 7. Debtor's monthly income at reaffirmation: 8. Income from Schedule I, line 16: 9. Explain any difference in the amounts set out on lines 7 and 8: % months

10. Debtor's monthly expenses at reaffirmation (without this reaffirmed debt): 11. Current expenditures from Schedule J, line 18: 12. Explain any difference in the amounts set out on lines 10 and 11:

B27 (Official Form 27) (12/07)

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT District of Vermont Check this box if the amount on Line 10 of this form exceeds the amount on Line 7 of this form. If these expenses exceed the income, a presumption of undue hardship arises. Check this box if the debtor was not represented by counsel during the course of negotiating this reaffirmation agreement.

FILER'S CERTIFICATION I, , hereby certify that the attached agreement is a true and correct copy of the reaffirmation agreement between the parties identified on this Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet and complies with the requirements set forth in 11 U.S.C. § 524.

Signature

DEBTOR'S CERTIFICATION
[see Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4008(b)]

I certify that any explanation contained on lines 9 and 12 of this form is true and correct.

Signature (Debtor)

Signature (Joint Debtor, if any)

B27 (Official Form 27) (12/07)

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT District of Vermont Instruction Sheet for Form B27, Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet & Certifications
Item 1, "Amount of debt as of commencement of case." Fill-in the dollar figure reported in Schedule D of the Debtor's petition for the Creditor's claim that the Debtor now seeks to reaffirm. Item 2, "Describe collateral, if any, securing debt." Where the Debtor has pledges some kind of property as a condition for receiving a loan from the Creditor, the pledged property is called the "collateral"; it secures the Creditor's loan (or "debt") that the Debtor is seeking to reaffirm. A description of that property (or collateral) must be provided here. So, for example, if a Debtor has pledges a car in exchange for the Creditor's loan, a description of the car's make, model, year, VIN, and overall condition should be provided. Similar identifying information should be provided for other collateral so that the Court can easily identify the asset in the Debtor's petition and assess its value. Item 3, "Amount of debt being affirmed." This is the dollar figure reported in the Disclosure Statement of the Reaffirmation Agreement. I is found at the bottom of the first page of Form 240A. This "amount of debt" includes all fees and costs (if any) that have accrued as of the date of the reaffirmation agreement. Item 4, "Repayment term of reaffirmation." The "term" is simply the length of the loan; one may think of it as the total number of payments the Debtor must make to the Creditor t pay off the loan. Under the reaffirmation agreement, the term may be longer than the original term of the Creditor's loan. This information is found on page 3 of Form 240A. Item 5, "Monthly payment under reaffirmation." This is the monthly loan payment due to the Creditor under this reaffirmation agreement. This amount may not be the same amount that the Debtor had been paying the Creditor in the past. This information is found on page 3 of Form 240A. Item 6, "Annual percentage rate under reaffirmation." This is the rate of interest the Creditor is charging the Debtor for making the loan; it is a percentage figure. The percentage rate on the loan may be fixed or variable. The "Annual Percentage Rate" to be reported here is found on page 2 or 3 of Form 240A. Note that this interest rate may not be the same rate as what the Creditor was originally charging the Debtor under the original plan. Item 7, "Debtor's monthly income at reaffirmation." Provide the Debtor's most current income information; it may be more or less than the Debtor's monthly income when s/he filed for bankruptcy relief. This figure is calculated by adding together the Debtor's takehome pay and all other income received. It must be the same dollar figure the Debtor reports in Part D of Form 240A (on page 8). Item 8, "Income from Schedule I, line 16." Refer to the Debtor's Schedule I (filed with the bankruptcy petition). Copy the dollar figure found on line 16 of Schedule I onto the line for Item 8. Item 9, "Explain any difference in the amounts set out on lines 7 and 8." The Court requires a specific explanation. So, if the Debtor's monthly income is currently more than what it was on the date the bankruptcy case was filed, the Debtor must identify in Item 9 all new sources of income and the monthly amounts received from each source. Or, if the Debtor's monthly income is now less than what it was when the Debtor filed bankruptcy, the Debtor must explain the reason for this reduction and specify the amount of the monthly reduction. Item 10, "Debtor's monthly expenses at reaffirmation (without this reaffirmed debt). Here, the Debtor must report all his/her current monthly expenses except for the monthly payment s/he plans to make under this reaffirmation agreement. (So, do not include the monthly payment that will be due under this reaffirmation agreement.) This must be the same dollar figure the Debtor reports in Part D of Form 240A (on page 8), as his/her "actual current monthly expenses including monthly payments on postbankruptcy debt and other reaffirmation agreements, if any. Item 11, "Current expenditures from Schedule J, line 18." Refer to the Debtor's Schedule J (filed with the bankruptcy petition). Copy the dollar figure found on line 18 of Schedule J onto the line for Item 11. Item 12, "Explain any difference in the amounts set out on lines 10 and 11." The Court requires a specific explanation. So, if there is a difference between the Debtor's expenses on the date the bankruptcy petition was filed and the Debtor's current expenses, at minimum, the Debtor must identify those categories of expenses that have changed, explaining the reason(s) for the change(s), and stating the amount of the change(s) in each category of expenses. For example, it is not sufficient to state, "I have reduced my discretionary spending by $100." Rather, a sufficient explanation would be, "I have reduced my discretionary spending by decreasing entertainment expenses by $60, dry cleaning expenses by $15, and gift expenses by $35."

B27 (Official Form 27) (12/07)

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT District of Vermont Instruction Sheet for Form B27, Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet & Certifications
Check Boxes. Check the first box if the dollar figure in Item 10 is more than the dollar figure in Item 7. The Bankruptcy Code's presumption of "undue hardship" has been triggered requiring the Court to review the facts and figures that give rise to this "hardship" and to decide whether to approve the reaffirmation agreement. See 11 U.S.C. § 524(m). Note: A Debtor may provide a written statement to the Court explaining how s/he can afford to make the reaffirmation payments, even though s/he appears to have insufficient income to make the payment. If the Debtor chooses not to provide this statement, or if the statement is insufficient, the Debtor will be required to appear at a hearing in order to obtain Court approval of the reaffirmation agreement. If the written statement identifies a third party as an additional source of funds for making those payments, then either the third party must testify or file an affidavit or certification made under penalty of perjury indicating the third party's: · · · · relationship to the Debtor; ability and willingness to assist the Debtor; assistance is voluntary and is not a guarantee or promise of payment to the Creditor; and understanding that his/her assistance may be a basis for the Court's approval of the reaffirmation agreement.

Check the second box if the Debtor was not represented by an attorney in negotiating the reaffirmation agreement. In this District, if an attorney charges a Debtor a flat fee for representation in a Chapter 7 case, negotiating reaffirmation agreements is a service covered by the fee and the attorney cannot charge an additional fee to assist the Debtor with any reaffirmation agreement. See Vt. LBR 2016-1(f)(2)(A). Therefore, a Debtor should only check this box if s/he is not represented by an attorney in the bankruptcy case. Certifications. "Filer's Certification" -- In this District, the Filer's Certification has been modified to include language that the reaffirmation agreement meets the requirements set out in 11 U.S.C. § 524. Thus, the filer must certify that the agreement attached to the cover sheet is a true and correct copy of the reaffirmation agreement under consideration and that the reaffirmation agreement meets the requirements set out in § 524. The party filing the reaffirmation agreement and the cover sheet (whether the Creditor, Debtor or another party) must complete and sign this certification. A cover sheet without an executed "Filer's Certification" shall be considered deficient and will not be processed by the Court. "Debtor's Certification" -- The Debtor must execute the "Debtor's Certification." A cover sheet without an executed "Debtor's Certification" shall be considered deficient and will not be processed by the Court. Questions. Any questions about this instruction sheet or the deficiency procedure should be directed to the Chief Deputy Clerk at (802) 776-2003; however, neither the Chief Deputy Clerk nor anyone in the Clerk's Office is permitted to give legal advice.