Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 Changes Effective 12/1/25: It Should Be “E"asy If You’re Prepared

Changes to Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 are set to take effect on December 1, 2025, introducing expanded motion rights for debtors and trustees to determine mortgage claim status, making use of mandatory official forms for responses, creating a new on-demand motion for full loan status reviews, and increasing potential penalties for non-compliance. The amendments also clarify the rule's application to a broader range of claims, including some that were previously excluded, such as reverse mortgages and loans paid in full during the case. Here are the main points to consider:

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The Entities Involved

The Old Way: The rule technically only applied to lenders who are secured by the debtor’s principal residence when the Debtor or the Trustee were making regular ongoing monthly payments either directly or via conduit.  

The New Way: Rule will now apply to lenders who are secured by the Debtor’s principal residence no matter who is making the ongoing payments AND additionally, in cases where the claim may be paid in full over the life of the plan. Perhaps no one is making regular payments, perhaps the loan was subject to cram down or perhaps the claim is being paid in full as it matures during the life of the plan. Those treatments were previously exempted from this rule. That is no longer the case. Reverse mortgages are now included under this rule as well despite the lack of regular monthly payments.  

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The Exceptions

The Old Way: HELOC lenders were required to tender Payment Change Notices as much and as often as interest rates and payments changed. Some jurisdictions would allow a lender to Motion to be exempted from that requirement, but others would not.  

The New Way: HELOC lenders will only be required to file Payment Change Notices ONCE a year as long as the payment amount does not change more than $10. The yearly report would require an annual reconciliation showing either a surplus or deficit. The ongoing payment change on that yearly report must cure or resolve whatever variation is necessary to bring the account current ongoingly.  

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The Explanation

The Old Way: It was a standard practice that if a Payment Change Notice was not timely filed, the Creditor would have to eat the loss of that untimely filed notice if the payment was to increase. For example, if the PCN is effective March but isn’t filed until April, the payment increase could not actually take effect any earlier than 21 days from the date of the filing of the PCN. Counter to that, if the PCN decreased the payment, the effective date could stand as it would be considered a benefit to the Debtor for that payment to be decreased retroactively.

The New Way: The changes to 3002.1 effectively formalized what the courts and the practitioners were already doing in these cases with late filed Payment Change Notices. So, the practice as laid out above has been accepted into the rule.

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The Extracting and Exacting

The Old Way: A Debtor and Trustee could file a Motion to Determine at any time in a bankruptcy case to clean up and clarify a mortgage payment history.  

The New Way: The Motion to Determine is now being formalized into a standardized template to be used in all jurisdictions. The Rule will provide that a Creditor has 28 days to respond to the Motion to Determine if they disagree with the assertions contained therein. The response is to be filed on a templated and designated form. This was being referred to as the “mid-case audit” tool, allowing a Debtor or Trustee to bring an issue or concern up in the middle of a bankruptcy case instead of having to clean up issues at the end. This tool carries the risk of abuse by a Debtor, potentially costing the lender significant time, money, and energy if misused or overused by either the Debtor or Trustee. Ideally, the Judge will step in if any party takes advantage of the process. The lender will also need to provide additional documentation, such as a payoff statement and an itemized payment history for the entire post-petition period.

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The End

The Old Way: Trustees were encouraged to file a Notice of Final Cure at the completion of a bankruptcy payment period. They could use whatever format or template they wished in filing this document. The lenders were encouraged to respond to said process and file a response either agreeing or disagreeing with the assertions made by the Trustee as to the status of the account.

The New Way: Trustees are required to file a new Notice of Final Cure form which has been made into a standardized form/template to be used in all jurisdictions. Even non-conduit Trustees are being advised that this filing is mandatory. A response must be filed by the creditor to this new template within 28 days and the response must be made via a standardized template (which was already the case for lenders before). The new standardized template is much more detailed and requires comprehensive breakdowns of the account status and payoff figures. If the lender does not file a response to the Trustee’s Notice of Final Cure the Debtor or Trustee may file a Motion to Determine at that time.

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Key Takeaways

In summary, here’s what lenders and servicers should prepare for:

• Expanded Coverage: Rule 3002.1 now applies to a wider range of loans, including reverse mortgages and claims paid in full during the life of the plan.

• HELOC Relief: HELOC lenders need to file payment change notices only once a year (unless payments shift by more than $10), streamlining compliance.

• Formalized Practices: Common court and practitioner approaches to late-filed payment change notices are now codified in the rule.

• Standardized Motions: Debtors and Trustees can use a new standardized Motion to Determine Status mid-case, with creditors required to respond on official forms within 28 days.

• Detailed Final Cure: Trustees must file a new standardized Notice of Final Cure, and creditors must provide a detailed, template-based response—or risk a Motion to Determine.