Bankruptcy — page 2 of 2

Bankruptcy terms

101. insider (of corporate debtor) A director, officer, or person in control of the debtor; a partnership in which the debtor is a general partner; a general partner of the debtor; or a…
102. insider (of individual debtor) Any relative of the debtor or of a general partner of the debtor; partnership in which the debtor is a general partner; general partner of the debtor; or…
103. involuntary filing A bankruptcy case that a creditor or group of creditors initiates.
104. Issue When a corporation offers a stock or bond for sale, or a government offers a bond, the security is known as an issue, and the company or government is the…
105. joint administration A court-approved mechanism under which two or more cases can be administered together.
106. joint petition One bankruptcy petition filed by a husband and wife together.
107. judge An official with the authority and responsibility to preside in a court, try lawsuits and make legal rulings. Judges are attorneys.
108. Judgment A legal decision; when requiring debt repayment, a judgment may include a property lien that secures the creditor's claim by providing a collateral source.
109. Judicial lien A lien created by order of a court, such as the lien of a judgment.
110. Jurisdiction (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same…
111. jurisprudence The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
112. Liabilities A person's debts and other financial obligations.
113. Lien Legal claim against a property. Once the property is sold, the lien holder is then paid the amount that is owed.
114. liquidated claim A creditor's claim for a fixed amount of money.
115. liquidation The process through which the assets backing a defaulted loan are sold for cash.
116. matrix List of creditors names and addresses, filed with the petition.
117. means test Section 707(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code applies a "means test" to determine whether an individual debtor's chapter 7 filing is presumed to be an abuse of…
118. motion to lift the automatic stay A request by a creditor to allow the creditor to take action against the debtor or the debtor's property that would otherwise be prohibited by the…
119. Net Income Your take-home pay, the amount of money that you receive in your paycheck after taxes and deductions.
120. Net Worth A corporation's net worth is the retained earnings, or the amount left after dividends are paid, plus the money in its capital accounts, minus all of its…
121. no-asset case A chapter 7 case where there are no assets available to satisfy any portion of the creditors' unsecured claims.
122. nondischargeable debt A debt that cannot be eliminated in bankruptcy. Examples include a home mortgage, debts for alimony or child support, certain taxes, debts for most…
123. nonexempt property Property that the debtor may not keep.
124. objection to dischargeability A trustee's or creditor's objection to the debtor being released from personal liability for certain dischargeable debts.
125. objection to exemptions A trustee's or creditor's objection to the debtor's attempt to claim certain property as exempt from liquidation by the trustee to creditors.
126. Opinion A judges written explanation of a decision of the court or of a majority of judges.
127. party in interest A party who has standing to be heard by the court in a matter to be decided in the bankruptcy case. The debtor, the U.S.
128. petition preparer A business not authorized to practice law that prepares bankruptcy petitions.
129. plaintiff A person or business that files a formal complaint with the court.
130. Plan A benefit your employer, union or other group sponsor provides to you to pay for your health care services.
131. plan of reorganization Sets out how a debtor in Chapter 11 reorganization proposes to repay its creditors.
132. postpetition transfer A transfer of the debtor's property made after the commencement of the case.
133. prebankruptcy planning The arrangement (or rearrangement) of a debtor's property to allow the debtor to take maximum advantage of exemptions.
134. preference or preferential debt payment A debt payment made to a creditor in the 90-day period before a debtor files bankruptcy (or within one year if the creditor was an insider) that gives the…
135. presumption of abuse .
136. pretrial conference Scheduling conference at which trial, motion cut-off, and other dates are set.
137. priority The Bankruptcy Code's statutory ranking of unsecured claims that determines the order in which unsecured claims will be paid if there is not enough money…
138. priority claim An unsecured claim that is entitled to be paid ahead of other unsecured claims that are not entitled to priority status.
139. pro se A nonlawyer who represents himself or herself in a court proceeding.
140. proof of claim A written statement and verifying documentation filed by a creditor that describes the reason the debtor owes the creditor money.
141. property of the estate All legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.
142. reaffirmation agreement An agreement by a chapter 7 debtor to continue paying a dischargeable debt (such as an auto loan) after the bankruptcy, usually for the purpose of keeping…
143. reorganization A type of bankruptcy filing; the debtor gets to keep most, if not all, of its assets but has to pay all or some specified part of its debts according to a…
144. schedules Detailed lists filed by the debtor along with (or shortly after filing) the petition showing the debtor's assets, liabilities, and other financial…
145. secured creditor A creditor holding a claim against the debtor who has the right to take and hold or sell certain property of the debtor in satisfaction of some or all of…
146. standing trustee A trustee with a permanent appointment to serve in Chapter 12 or 13 cases.
147. statement of financial affairs A series of questions the debtor must answer in writing concerning sources of income, transfers of property, lawsuits by creditors, etc.
148. statement of intention A declaration made by a chapter 7 debtor concerning plans for dealing with consumer debts that are secured by property of the estate.
149. statue of limitations A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
150. straight bankruptcy Proceedings under Chapter 7.
151. Subpoena A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
152. substantive consolidation Putting the assets and liabilities of two or more related debtors into a single pool to pay creditors.
153. summary judgment Either party can make a motion (a request) that the Court decide the case based solely on the pleadings or documents that have been filed.
154. transfer In a transfer, a 401(k) or IRA custodian or trustee moves the assets in your existing account directly to the custodian or trustee of your new account.
155. Trustee A trustee is a person or institution appointed to manage assets for someone else's benefit.
156. U.S. trustee An officer of the Justice Department responsible for supervising the administration of bankruptcy cases, estates, and trustees; monitoring plans and…
157. u.s. trustees Supervise the administration of bankruptcy cases and trustee; relieve bankruptcy judges of routine administrative matters, such as appointing case…
158. undersecured claim A debt secured by property that is worth less than the full amount of the debt.
159. unliquidated claim A claim for which a specific value has not been determined.
160. unscheduled debt A debt that should have been listed by the debtor in the schedules filed with the court but was not.
161. unsecured claim A claim or debt for which a creditor holds no special assurance of payment, such as a mortgage or lien; a debt for which credit was extended based solely…
162. unsecured creditor A creditor without security for the debt.
163. venue The geographical location in which a case is tried.
164. voluntary filing A bankruptcy case that the debtor initiates.
165. voluntary transfer A transfer of a debtor's property with the debtor's consent.
166. workout Arrangement between debtor and creditor to satisfy a debt.
167. writ Authority to carry out or to act.