Chapter Data – Widespread Courtroom Phrases
June 9th, 2011Chapter- Chapter Terminology, 45 Terms to Know and Understand
Many debtors and collectors know little of the bankruptcy process. These phrases are to assist assist people in understanding bankruptcy. The terms offered are as defined from the Public Information Collection of the Chapter Judges Division.
TERMS & DEFINITIONS
Adversary Continuing -
A lawsuit arising in or related to a bankruptcy case that’s commenced by submitting a complaint with the bankruptcy court.
Automatic Keep -
An injunction that routinely stops lawsuits, foreclosures, garnishments, and all collection activity in opposition to the debtor the second a bankruptcy petition is filed.
Chapter -
A legal process for dealing with debt problems of people and companies; specifically, a case filed beneath one of many chapters of title 11 on the United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code).
Chapter Decide -
A judicial officer of the United States district court who is the courtroom official with the decision-making energy over federal bankruptcy cases.
Bankruptcy Mill -
A enterprise not licensed to practice law that provides bankruptcy counseling and prepares bankruptcy petitions.
Bankruptcy Petition -
A formal request for the safety of the federal bankruptcy laws. (There may be an official type for bankruptcy petitions.)
Chapter Trustee -
A non-public particular person or corporation appointed in all chapter 7, chapter 12, and chapter 13 circumstances to signify the pursuits of the bankruptcy property and the debtor’s creditors.
Chapter 7 -
The chapter of the Bankruptcy Code providing for “liquidation,” i.e., the sale of a debtor’s nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors.
Chapter 7 Trustee -
A person appointed in a chapter 7 case to signify the interests of the bankruptcy estate and the unsecured creditors. (The trustee’s responsibilities embody reviewing the debtor’s petition and schedules, liquidating the property of the property, and making distributions to the creditors. The trustee might also deliver actions towards creditors or the debtor to get well property of the bankruptcy estate.)
Chapter 13 -
The chapter of the Chapter Code providing for adjustment of debts of a person with common income. (Chapter 13 allows a debtor to maintain property and pay debt over time, usually three to 5 years.)
Exempt -
An outline of any property {that a} debtor may forestall creditors from recovering.
Exemption -
Property that the Chapter Code or relevant state law permits a debtor to maintain from creditors.
Exempt Property -
Property or worth in property {that a} debtor is allowed to retain, free from the claims of creditors who shouldn’t have liens.
Lien -
A charge upon particular property designed to secure cost of a debt or a efficiency obligation.
Liquidation -
A sale of a debtor’s property with the proceeds to be used for the advantage of the creditors.
Claim -
A creditor’s assertion of a proper to cost from a debtor or the debtor’s property.
Grievance -
The first or initiatory document in a lawsuit that notifies the court and the defendant of the grounds claimed by the plaintiff for an award of money or other aid in opposition to the defendant.
Affirmation -
Approval of a plan of reorganization by a bankruptcy judge.
Consumer Money owed -
Debt incurred for private, versus business, needs.
Contingent Claim -
A declare which may be owed by the debtor beneath certain circumstances, for example, the place the debtor is a cosigner on one other person’s loan and that person fails to pay.
Creditor -
An individual to whom or business to which the debtor owes money or that claims to be owed cash by the debtor.
Debtor -
An individual who has filed a petition for aid underneath the bankruptcy laws.
Defendant -
An individual (or enterprise) in opposition to whom a lawsuit is filed.
Discharge -
A launch of a debtor from personal liability for sure dischargeable debts. (A discharge releases a debtor type private liability for certain debts referred to as dischargeable debts (outlined beneath) and prevents the creditors owed those debts from taking any motion towards the debtor or the debtor’s property to collect the debts. The discharge also prohibits creditors from speaking with the debtor relating to their debt, together with phonephone calls, letters, and personal contact.)
Dischargeable Debt -
A debt for which the Chapter Code allows the debtor’s personal legal responsibility to be eliminated.
Disclosure Statement -
A written doc prepared by the chapter 11 debtor or other plan proponent that’s designed to offer “enough information” to collectors to enable them to evaluate the chapter 11 plan of reorganization.
Equity -
The value of a debtor’s interest in property that is still after liens and other creditors’ pursuits are considered. (Instance: If a house valued at $60,000 is topic to a $30,000 mortgage, there’s $30,000 of equity.)
Liquidated Claim -
A creditor’s claim for a fixed quantity of money.
No-Asset Case -
A chapter 7 case where there are no belongings out there to fulfill any portion of the creditor’s unsecured claims.
Non Dischargeable Debt -
A debt that cannot be eliminated in bankruptcy.
Objection to Discharge -
A trustee’s or creditor’s objection to the debtor’s being released from private legal responsibility for sure dischargeable debts.
Objection to Exemptions -
A trustee’s or a creditor’s objection to a debtor’s try to assert certain property as exempt, i.e., not answerable for any prepetition debt of the debtor.
Party in Curiosity -
A celebration who is definitely and considerably excited about the subject matter, as distinguished from one who has solely a nominal or technical curiosity in it.
Plan -
A debtor’s detailed description of how the debtor proposes to pay collectors’ claims over a set period of time.
Plaintiff -
An individual or business that information a formal complaint with the court.
Preferential Debt Cost -
A debt fee made to a creditor in the 90-day interval earlier than a debtor information bankruptcy (or within one year if the creditor was an insider) that offers the creditor greater than the creditor would receive in a chapter 7 case.
Precedence -
The Bankruptcy Code’s statutory ranking of unsecured claims that determines the order by which unsecured claims can be paid if there’s not enough money to pay all unsecured claims in full.
Proof of Claim -
A written assertion describing the reason a debtor owes a creditor money. (There may be an official type for this purpose.)
Reaffirmation Agreement -
An settlement by a chapter 7 debtor to proceed paying a dischargeable debt after the bankruptcy, usually for the purpose of retaining the collateral or mortgaged property that may otherwise be topic to repossession.
Secured Creditor -
A person or enterprise holding a claim towards the debtor that is secured by a lien on the property of the estate or that’s topic to a proper of setoff.
Secured Debt -
Debt backed by a mortgage, pledge of collateral, or other lien; debt for which the creditor has the correct to pursue specific pledged property upon default.
341 Assembly -
A gathering of creditors at which the debtor is questioned under oath by creditors, a trustee, examiner, or the United States trustee about his/her monetary affairs.
Typing Service -
A enterprise not licensed to observe legislation that prepares bankruptcy petitions.
United States Trustee -
An officer of the Justice Division responsible for supervising the administration of bankruptcy instances, estates, and trustees, monitoring plans and disclosure statements, monitoring collectors’ committees, monitoring price applications, and performing other statutory duties.
Unscheduled Debt -
A debt that ought to have been listed by a debtor within the schedules filed with the court but was not. (Relying on the circumstances, an unscheduled debt might or will not be discharged.)
These phrases are for most of the people to have a greater understanding of bankruptcy and the terminology that accompanies the filing or inquiry of a bankruptcy.