The financial crisis caught many regulators off-guard and unprepared for what would be years of clean-up. It’s a scenario they don’t want to find themselves in again.

That’s why the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp board voted today to approve rules that would force financial firms to write so-called “living wills” that map out how to liquidate them in the event of their failure. The rule stems from the chaos surrounding the Lehman Brothers failure which left its creditors scrambling to recover their money.

The FDIC rule covers 37 banks and thrifts with more than $50 billion in assets including Bank of America,Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The largest institutions with more than $250 billion in non-bank assets will have to submit their plans in July 2012. Those with assets between $100 billion and $250 billion would file by July 2013, and all other firms must submit plans by December 2013.

FDIC Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said, “The FDIC’s Interim Final Rule requiring insured depository institutions with assets over $50 billion to submit resolution plans is intended to serve as a complement to the joint rulemaking with the Federal Reserve under the Dodd-Frank Act that was also approved by the FDIC Board today.