| A | B |
|---|
| abandoned property | Property belonging to the debtor that a trustee decides would bring in no money for creditors. |
| adjudicate | To settle or determine in a final manner. |
| adversary proceeding | An individual lawsuit brought within a bankruptcy proceeding. |
| asset | Any property owned by the business, both real and personal, tangible and intangible. |
| assume | An agreement to continue performing duties under a contract or lease |
| automatic stay | An injunction or court order that takes effect when a bankruptcy petition is filed, prohibiting all entities and individuals from any action against the debtor, property of the debtor, or property of the bankruptcy estate. |
| Bankruptcy Code | Federal law governing bankruptcy proceedings. |
| bankruptcy | The means by which a person or entity may gain protection under the law for unpaid debts. |
| bankruptcy judge | The judge who determines whether a debtor is entitled to a discharge in bankruptcy. |
| business bankruptcy | One filed by a business entity. |
| Chapter 7 | Straight or liquidated bankrupty |
| Chapter 11 | Reorganization bankruptcy |
| Chapter 12 | Family farmer plan |
| Chapter 13 | Wage earner payment plan |
| claim | A debt owed by a debtor to another. |
| clerk of court | Person who maintains control of all documents filed. |
| consumer bankruptcy | A bankruptcy proceeding filed by an individual who is not in business. |
| consumer debt | A debt incurred by an individual or family for household, personal, or family use. |
| contingent claim | A claim that may be owed by the debtor under certain circumstances. |
| credit counseling | Professional counseling to help consumers find ways to repay their debt through budgeting and money management; required by new bankruptcy laws. |
| creditor | A person or an entity to whom a debt is owed by another. |
| creditors meeting (§ 341 meeting) | In bankruptcy, first meeting of creditors and equity security holders, at which time a trustee may be elected and the debtor examined under oath. |
| debtor | One who owes a debt to another; the person or entity seeking relief under the Bankruptcy Code. |
| debtor in possession (DIP) | The entity or individual retaining possession of the assets of the bankruptcy estate in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. |
| deficiency | A lack, shortage, or insufficiency. |
| discharge | The conclusion of the bankruptcy case when all payments under a plan have been made or the debtor has been relieved of its debts. |
| dismissal | An order or judgment finally disposing of an action, suit, motion, without trial of the issues involved. |
| entity | A person or legally recognized organization. |
| equity | The money value of a property or of an interest in a property in excess of claims or liens against that property. |
| estate | All of the debtors nonexempt property. |
| exempt property | Property not attachable in bankruptcy; those items that a debtor is entitled to keep under the Code. |
| garnishment | A proceeding whereby a plaintiff creditor seeks to subject to his or her claim the property or money of a third party; an ancillary remedy in aid of execution to obtain payment of a judgment. |
| homestead exemption | A law permitting the debtor to retain the family home, either in its entirety or up to a specified dollar amount, free from the claims of the creditors or trustees. |
| insolvent | When the total debt of an individual or an entity is greater than all of its property. |
| interim trustee | The individual who serves until a trustee is appointed. |
| involuntary petition | One in which the creditors ask the court to place a debtor in liquidation. |
| lien | A legally enforceable claim against the property of a debtor. |
| liquidation | The conversion by sale of all of a debtors non?exempt property. |
| means test | A formula used to determine if a debtor may file for bankruptcy under Chapters 7 or 13. |
| no-asset case | Generally a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in which the debtor has no assets available to satisfy any portion of the creditors' unsecured claims. |
| notice to creditors | A notice given by the bankruptcy court to all creditors of a meeting of creditors. |
| preference | The paying or securing to one or more of his creditors, by an insolvent debtor, the whole or a part of their claim, to the exclusion or detriment of the rest. |
| priority claims | Certain types of bankruptcy claims such as administrative expenses, employee benefits plans and some spousal and child support which have priority over other types of claims. |
| proof of claim | Statement under oath filed in a bankruptcy proceeding by a creditor in which the creditor sets forth the amount owed and sufficient detail to identify the basis for the claim. |
| reaffirmation agreement | An agreement whereby the debtor agrees to continue payments to the creditor as before bankruptcy. |
| receiver | A person appointed by a court for the purpose of preserving property of a debtor pending an action against him, or applying the property in satisfaction of a creditors claim, whenever there is danger that, in the absence of such an appointment, the property will be lost, removed, or injured. |
| Schedules A-J | Required detailed forms completed in a bankruptcy filing. |
| secured debt | A debt for which the debtor has pledged something of value to guarantee payment. |
| stay | To stay an order or decree means to hold it in abeyance, or refrain from enforcing it. |
| trustee | The person charged with liquidation of a debtors estate. |
| unscheduled debt | A debt that should have been listed by the debtor in the schedules filed with the court but was not. |
| unsecured debt | A debt that does not fit into the secured category, such as a charge account. |
| voluntary petition | One in which a debtor voluntarily asks for a discharge of their debts. |
| wage earners plan | A type of partial bankruptcy in which a person keeps his or her property and pays off a court-established proportion of debt to creditors over a period of time and under court supervision. |
| workout | An out-of-court negotiation in which a debtor enters into an agreement with a creditor(s) for a payment or plan to discharge the debtor's debt. |
