In general, insolvent individuals have the choice of either a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy, each governed by the United States Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is titled "Adjustment of Debts of an Individual with...
bankruptcy
Chapter 13 plan
Chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code allows individuals with regular income to develop a plan to repay some or all of their debts. Debtors are required under this chapter to propose a repayment plan to make installment payments...
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Overview
When a debtor becomes insolvent and the bankruptcy proceeding begins, the debtor will either liquidate its assets or reorganize its debts. The liquidation route is governed by Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.
In a...
Chapter 9 bankruptcy
Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code provides a legal remedy for insolvent municipalities to "provide adequate municipal services" to residents (In re City of Detroit). Specifically, the provisions permit municipalities to file for...
claim in bankruptcy
A claim in bankruptcy refers to a claim made by a creditor to establish that they are entitled to a portion of the assets of an estate which filed bankruptcy.
Filing a claim in bankruptcy is necessary if a creditor wants to...
collection agency
A collection agency is any person or company hired to collect or attempt to collect debts due or asserted to be due to another person. Some states, like Illinois, define a collection agency as a person who engages in the collection of a debt...
cram-down
Cram-down refers to a court forcing a creditor to accept new terms of a loan in bankruptcy proceedings. The tool is most often used in Chapter 13 proceedings to reduce the debt owed to a creditor to the value of the collateral. For example,...
credit
Credit means the right granted by a creditor to an applicant to defer payment of a debt, incur debt and defer its payment, or purchase property or services and defer payment. See: 12 CFR § 1002.2(j)
Business credit refers to extensions of credit...
credit counseling
Credit counseling is a professional service, usually provided by a credit counseling agency, that provides consumers with guidance about credit, the repayment of debt outside of bankruptcy, financial management, and budgeting. Certified...
credit file
A credit file is a collection of data about an individual’s borrowing and repayment activity.
The information in an individual’s credit file determines their credit score, and their credit score is analyzed by financial...