Glossary

Bankruptcy has its own language. Here is a brief definition of the relevant terms used in this site.

NM Bankruptcy District www.uscourt.gov/common/glossary.aspx

Adversary proceeding: A lawsuit filed in the bankruptcy court which is related to the debtor’s bankruptcy case. Examples are complaints to determine the dischargeability of a debt and complaints to determine the extent and validity of liens.

Assets: Assets are every form of property that the debtor owns. They include such intangible things as business goodwill; the right to sue someone; or stock options. The debtor must disclose all of his assets in the bankruptcy schedules; exemptions remove the exempt assets from property of the estate.

Automatic stay: The injunction issued automatically upon the filing of a bankruptcy case which prohibits collection actions against the debtor, the debtor’s property or the property of the estate. See Relief from Stay on terminating the injunction.

Bankruptcy Code. Title 11 of the United States Code governs bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy is a matter of federal law and is, with the exception of exemptions, the same in every state. When federal bankruptcy law conflicts with state law, federal law controls. Bankruptcy Code incorporating changes effective 10/17/05.

Bankruptcy estate: The estate is all of the legal and equitable interests of the debtor as of the commencement of the case. From the estate, an individual debtor can claim certain property exempt; the balance of the estate is liquidated in a Chapter 7 to pay the administrative costs of the proceeding and the claims of creditors according to their priority. More on the estate Chapter 7: The most common form of bankruptcy, a Chapter 7 case is a liquidation proceeding, available to individuals, married couples, partnerships and corporations.

Charged Off: This is an accounting term that means the creditor does not expect to collect on the debt. It relates to the creditor’s taxes. It starts time periods under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It does not mean that the debt is no longer legally enforceable.

Creditor: The person or organization to whom the debtor owes money or has some other form of legal obligation.

Debtor: The debtor is the entity ( person, partnership or corporation) who is liable for debts, and who is the subject of a bankruptcy case.

Denial of discharge: Penalty for debtor misconduct with respect to the bankruptcy case or creditors as a whole. The grounds on which the debtor’s discharge may be denied are found in 11 U.S.C. 727. When the debtor’s discharge is denied, the debts that could have been discharged in that case cannot be discharged in any subsequent bankruptcy. The administration of the case, the liquidation of assets and the recovery of avoidable transfers, continues for the benefit of creditors.

Discharge: The legal elimination of debt through a bankruptcy case. When a debt is discharged, it is no longer legally enforceable against the debtor, though any lien which secures the debt may survive the bankruptcy case.

Dischargeable: Debts that can be eliminated in bankruptcy. Certain debts are not dischargeable; that is, they may not be discharged through bankruptcy or may only be discharged through Chapter 13. Family support and criminal restitution are examples of debts which cannot be discharged. Debts incurred by fraud can only be discharged in Chapter 13.

Dismissal: The termination of the case without either the entry of a discharge or a denial of discharge; after a case is dismissed, the debtor and the creditors have the same rights as they had before the bankruptcy case was commenced. Dismissal is the penalty for many essentially minor infractions of bankruptcy procedures under the 2005 amendments.

Domestic Support Obligation: Debts for alimony, maintenance or support owed to child, spouse or governmental entity that paid for the support of the child or spouse. A new term introduced by the bankruptcy amendments of 2005.

Exempt: Property that is exempt is removed from the bankruptcy estate and is not available to pay the claims of creditors. The debtor selects the property to be exempted from the statutory lists of exemptions available under the law of his state. The debtor gets to keep exempt property for use in making a fresh start after bankruptcy.

Exemptions: Exemptions are the lists of the kinds and values of property that is legally beyond the reach of creditors or the bankruptcy trustee. The debtor in bankruptcy keeps the exempt property. What property may be exempted is determined by state and federal statutes, and varies from state to state.

General, unsecured claim: Creditor’s claim without a priority for payment for which the creditor holds no security (or collateral). If the available funds in the estate extend to payment of unsecured claims, the claims are paid in proportion to the size of the claim relative to the total of claims in the class of unsecured claims.

Lien: An interest in real or personal property which secures a debt; the lien may be voluntary, such as a mortgage in real property, or involuntary, such as a judgment lien or tax lien.

Means Test: Added to the Code in 2005, the intent of the means test is to screen out those filing Chapter 7 who are supposedly able to repay some part of their debts. The test is found in Official Form B22a. Debtors who fail the means test may convert their case to another chapter of bankruptcy.

Meeting of creditors: The debtor must appear at a meeting with the trustee to be examined under oath about assets and liabilities. Creditors are invited but seldom attend. The meeting is sometimes called the 341 meeting, after the section of the Bankruptcy Code that requires it.

Nondischargeable: A debt that cannot be eliminated in bankruptcy. Nondischargeable debts remain legally enforceable despite the bankruptcy discharge. The Code’s list of nondischargeable debts is found at 11 U.S.C. 523. The scope of the discharge in Chapter 13 differs from the discharge in Chapter 7.

Personal property: Assets, such as cars, stock, furniture, etc., that is not real estate or affixed to real property,

Petition: The document that initiates a bankruptcy case. The filing of the petition constitutes an order for relief and institutes the automatic stay. Events are frequently described as “pre-petition”, happening before the bankruptcy petition was filed, and “post petition”, after the bankruptcy was filed.  The FILING DATE is the date the bankruptcy filing is legally EFFECTIVE

Pre-petition: Claims or events arising before the commencement of the bankruptcy case, that is, before the filing of the bankruptcy petition. Generally only pre-petition debts may be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Property of the estate: The property that is not exempt and belongs to the bankruptcy estate. Property of the estate is usually sold by the trustee and the claims of creditors paid from the proceeds.

Reaffirm: The debtor can chose to waive the discharge as to a debt that is reaffirmed. Generally, the parties to the reaffirmed debt have the same rights and liabilities that each had prior to the bankruptcy filing: the debtor is obligated to pay and the creditor can sue or repossess if the debtor doesn’t pay. More on reaffirmation and the alternatives.

Relief from stay: A creditor can ask the judge to lift the automatic stay and permit some action against the debtor or the property of the estate. If the motion is granted, the moving party (but no one else) is free to take whatever action the court permits. Relief can be absolute, for example, permitting the creditor to foreclose on property, or limited, as for example, allowing the recording of a notice of default.

Schedules: The debtor must file the required lists of assets and liabilities to commence a bankruptcy case, collectively called the schedules.  The bankruptcy case is commence at the time of filing the Petition and Schedules.

Secured debt: A claim secured by a lien in the debtor’s property by reason of the debtor’s agreement or an involuntary lien such as a judgment or tax lien. The creditor’s claim may be divided into a secured claim, to the extent of the value of the collateral, and an unsecured claim equal to the remainder of the total debt. Generally a secured claim must be perfected under applicable state law to be treated as a secured claim in the bankruptcy.

Trustee: the court appoints a trustee in every Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 case to review the debtor’s schedules and represent the interests of the creditors in the bankruptcy case. The role of the trustee is different under the different chapters.

Unsecured: A claim or debt is unsecured if there is no collateral that is security for the debt. Most consumer debts are unsecured.
Further definitions are found in Section 101 of the Bankruptcy Code. 11 U.S. Code § 101. See, www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/101.

Case Trustee: In every chapter 7, 12, and 13 case a case trustee is appointed when the bankruptcy petition is filed. This trustee does not represent the debtor or any individual creditor. Rather, the trustee has independent rights and duties that are set forth in bankruptcy code sections.

Case trustees and their staff are not permitted to give legal advice to the debtor or the creditors.

Your Signature: What Your Signature Means:  If you are a debtor, your signature on the petition and statements and schedules constitutes an oath that the information is accurate and complete. The Bankruptcy Code provides serious penalties for false statements. See Section 727(a)(4)(A) for an example, which denies a discharge for false oaths. Title 18 of the United States Code (Crimes and Criminal Procedure) Section 152 also makes it a crime to knowingly and fraudulently conceal property, make a false oath or account, or make a false declaration or verification. If you are a creditor, 18 U.S.C. section 152 makes it a crime to knowingly and fraudulently present a false claim.

 

Need Help? Have Questions?


Call Attorney For Free Initial Consultation and Direct Quote.

Contact Us