Reference

Bankruptcy Glossary

70 terms in plain language, each explained against the statute or rule it comes from.

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341 Meeting: A 341 meeting is the required creditors' meeting where a bankruptcy trustee questions the debtor under oath. What it is, how it works, what people get wrong.

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Abandonment in Bankruptcy: Abandonment is when a bankruptcy trustee releases property from the estate because it is burdensome or of inconsequential value. What it means for you.
Adversary Proceeding: The Lawsuit Inside a Bankruptcy Case: An adversary proceeding is a separate lawsuit filed inside a bankruptcy case. What Rule 7001 requires, how one works, and what people get wrong.
Applicable Commitment Period in Chapter 13: The applicable commitment period is the minimum span a Chapter 13 plan's disposable income test measures under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b). What sets it, and why.
Arrears: What Past-Due Payments Mean in Bankruptcy: Arrears are the past-due payments you have missed on a debt. Learn what arrears mean in a bankruptcy case, how a Chapter 13 plan treats them, and common myths.
Automatic Stay: The automatic stay is the statutory pause on collection that begins when a bankruptcy petition is filed. What it halts, how long it lasts, and its limits.

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Bank Levy: What It Means and How It Works: A bank levy is a court-authorized seizure of funds in a deposit account by a judgment creditor. What it means, how it works, and what changes in bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy Administrator: Who Oversees Cases in Alabama and North Carolina: The Bankruptcy Administrator oversees bankruptcy case administration in the six judicial districts of Alabama and North Carolina, and what that means for you.
Bankruptcy Estate: A bankruptcy estate is the pool of property created the moment a case is filed. What goes in, who controls it, and what exemptions actually do.

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Chapter 11: Chapter 11 is the Bankruptcy Code's reorganization chapter. What it means, who files it, how plans and creditor voting work, and what people get wrong.
Chapter 12: Bankruptcy for Family Farmers and Family Fishermen: Chapter 12 is the Bankruptcy Code chapter for family farmers and family fishermen with regular annual income. What it means, how the plan works.
Chapter 13: Chapter 13 is the Bankruptcy Code chapter letting an individual with regular income repay debts over time under a court-confirmed plan. What the term means.
Chapter 13 Plan: A Chapter 13 plan is the repayment document a debtor files proposing how creditors are paid over three to five years. What it is and how confirmation works.
Chapter 7: Chapter 7 is the liquidation chapter of the federal Bankruptcy Code. What it means, how a case works, and the four things people most often get wrong.
Codebtor Stay: What It Is and Who It Protects: A codebtor stay is a Chapter 13 or 12 protection that blocks creditors from collecting a consumer debt from your co-signer. What it covers and its limits.
Confirmation: The Court Order Approving a Bankruptcy Plan: Confirmation is the court order approving a bankruptcy repayment plan. What it binds, how the hearing works, and what it does not do, in plain English.
Continuance in Bankruptcy: Moving a Meeting or Hearing: A continuance postpones a scheduled bankruptcy event, like a § 341 meeting or court hearing. Who grants one, how requests are made, and what it changes.
Conversion: Moving a Bankruptcy Case to Another Chapter: Conversion moves a pending bankruptcy case from one chapter to another without starting over. What it means, why it matters, and how it works.
Cramdown: Cramdown means a bankruptcy court confirms a plan over a creditor's objection. What it means, why it matters, how it works, and what people get wrong.
Credit Counseling in Bankruptcy: What It Is and Why It's Required: Credit counseling is the pre-filing budget briefing individual bankruptcy filers must complete within 180 days before filing. What it is and why it matters.
Current Monthly Income (CMI): Current monthly income is the average monthly income you received in the six full months before filing bankruptcy, with specific statutory exclusions.

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Debt Management Plan: A debt management plan is a repayment arrangement run by a credit counseling agency outside of court. Here is how it differs from a Chapter 13 plan.
Debt settlement: Debt settlement is a private deal to resolve a debt for less than the balance. How it differs from a bankruptcy discharge, and what people get wrong.
Debtor Education (Personal Financial Management Course): Debtor education is the personal financial management course an individual filer takes after filing bankruptcy, and files with the court before discharge.
Declaring Bankruptcy: Declaring bankruptcy means filing a petition with a federal bankruptcy court. What the phrase means, what it starts, and what people get wrong about it.
Deficiency Balance: What Is Still Owed After Collateral Is Sold: A deficiency balance is what you still owe after collateral sells for less than the debt. How it is treated in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.
Discharge: A discharge is the court order releasing a debtor from personal liability for certain debts. What it covers, what it does not, and what people misread.
Dismissal: Dismissal ends a bankruptcy case without a discharge. What the term means, why it matters, how courts order it, and what people get wrong.
Disposable Income: Disposable income in bankruptcy is income left after expenses the law treats as reasonably necessary. What it means, why it matters, and what people get wrong.
Domestic Support Obligation: What a domestic support obligation is, why it sits at the top of the payment order in bankruptcy, and the certifications a case turns on before discharge.

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Equity: What It Means in Bankruptcy: Equity is what your property is worth minus what you owe on it. Here is how equity is defined, why it drives exemptions, and what people get wrong.
Exempt property: Exempt property is property a debtor claims as exempt from the bankruptcy estate. What the term means, why it matters, and what people get wrong.
Exemption: An exemption lets a debtor keep a specified interest in property under 11 U.S.C. § 522. What it covers, who chooses the list, and what it does not do.

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Fee Waiver in Bankruptcy: A fee waiver excuses a Chapter 7 filer from paying the court's filing fee. What it covers, who decides, how it is requested, and what people misread.
Filing Fee: A filing fee is the amount a bankruptcy court charges to open a case. What it covers, how it is paid, and what people commonly misunderstand.
Fraudulent Transfer: What the Term Means in a Bankruptcy Case: Fraudulent transfer, defined: what 11 U.S.C. § 548 lets a bankruptcy trustee undo, the two-year reach-back, and what the word actually means.

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Homestead Exemption: What It Protects in Bankruptcy: A homestead exemption shields a limited amount of equity in the home you live in. What it covers in bankruptcy, how it is claimed, and what it does not do.

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IRS National Standards: IRS National Standards are the nationwide food, clothing and health care allowances used as deductions on the bankruptcy means-test forms. What they mean.

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Judgment Lien: A judgment lien is a lien that arises from a court judgment against you. What it means, why it matters in a bankruptcy case, and what people get wrong.

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Lien Avoidance: Lien avoidance is a bankruptcy motion asking the court to wipe out a lien that eats into exempt property. What it covers, what it does not, and how it works.
Look-Back Period: A look-back period is a window of time before you file that a bankruptcy case examines. What the term means, which periods exist, and what people get wrong.

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Means Test: The Calculation Behind a Presumption of Abuse: The means test is the calculation that decides whether a consumer Chapter 7 filing is presumed abusive. What it means, why it matters, and how it works.
Median Income in Bankruptcy: Median income in bankruptcy is the published state family-income figure your income is compared against. What it is, why it matters, and what people get wrong.
Meeting of Creditors: The meeting of creditors is the § 341 examination every bankruptcy debtor must attend. What it is, who runs it, and what people get wrong about it.
Motion for Relief From Stay: A motion for relief from stay asks the bankruptcy court to let a creditor act despite the automatic stay. What it means, how it works, and common myths.

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No-Asset Case: What It Means in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: A no-asset case is a Chapter 7 case where the trustee finds nothing to sell for unsecured creditors. What that means, how it happens, and what it doesn't.
No-look fee: A no-look fee is a Chapter 13 attorney fee a bankruptcy court presumes reasonable without a detailed fee application. What it covers and what it does not.
Nondischargeable Debt: A nondischargeable debt survives your bankruptcy discharge. What the term means, which categories the Code lists, and what people get wrong about it.

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Opt-Out State: An opt-out state is one whose law bars debtors from using the federal exemption list in 11 U.S.C. § 522(d). What that means for your case, in plain English.

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Petition (Bankruptcy): A bankruptcy petition is the document filed with the bankruptcy court that starts a case. What it is, what it does, and what people get wrong about it.
Petition Date: The petition date is the day a bankruptcy petition is filed with the court. Learn why that date fixes what is in the case and what people get wrong.
Preference: A preference is a prepetition payment or transfer a bankruptcy trustee can undo under 11 U.S.C. § 547. What it means, why it matters, and what people get wrong.
Presumption of Abuse in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: A presumption of abuse is a statutory presumption under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2) that Chapter 7 relief would be abusive. What it means and how it is rebutted.
Priority Debt: Priority debt is a category of unsecured claim the Bankruptcy Code orders paid before other unsecured claims. What it covers and why it matters.
Proof of Claim in Bankruptcy: What It Is and What It Does: A proof of claim is a creditor's written statement of what a debtor owed on the filing date. What it does in a bankruptcy case, and what people get wrong.

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Reaffirmation Agreement: A reaffirmation agreement is a voluntary Chapter 7 contract to stay liable on a debt the discharge would cover. What § 524 requires and how rescission works.
Redemption in Bankruptcy: Redemption lets a Chapter 7 debtor pay a lienholder the allowed secured claim in one payment and keep certain personal property. What it covers, and its limits.

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Schedules in Bankruptcy: What They Are and Why They Matter: Schedules are the official forms listing a bankruptcy filer's property, debts, income, expenses and exemption claims, signed under penalty of perjury.
Secured Debt: A secured debt is backed by specific property a creditor can take if you do not pay. What that means for a bankruptcy case, and what people get wrong.
Statement of Financial Affairs (Official Form 107): Official Form 107, the Statement of Financial Affairs, discloses your recent financial history in a bankruptcy case: what it asks and why it matters.
Statement of Intention: What It Means in a Chapter 7 Case: A statement of intention is the Official Form 108 filing a Chapter 7 debtor uses to say what happens to secured property and personal property leases.
Student Loan Discharge: Student loan discharge is a bankruptcy court finding of undue hardship under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8). What the term means, how it is decided, and what varies.
Subchapter V: The Streamlined Small Business Track Inside Chapter 11: Subchapter V is a streamlined Chapter 11 track a small business debtor may elect. What the term means, how a case runs, and what people get wrong about it.

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Tenancy by the Entirety: Tenancy by the entirety is a form of joint property ownership available only to married couples. What it means when one spouse files for bankruptcy.
Trustee: What a bankruptcy trustee is, what the trustee does in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and how the case trustee differs from the U.S. Trustee's office.

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Undue Hardship: Undue hardship is the standard a debtor must prove to discharge educational debts, and a separate test courts apply to reaffirmation agreements.
United States Trustee: The United States Trustee is the Justice Department office that oversees bankruptcy case administration and appoints the private trustee on your case.
Unsecured Debt: Unsecured debt is a debt with no lien on collateral behind it. What that means for your bankruptcy schedules, your case, and what people get wrong.

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Wage Garnishment: Wage garnishment lets a creditor take part of your pay through your employer. What federal law caps, how state limits differ, and how bankruptcy affects it.
Wildcard Exemption: The Exemption Not Tied to One Kind of Property: A wildcard exemption applies to property of your choosing rather than one named category. What 11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(5) covers, and how state lists differ.