Some common terms used in all types of bankruptcies:
| 341 Meeting of the Creditors | A formal proceeding at which a debtor must appear is the meeting of creditors, which is usually held at the offices of the U.S. trustee. This meeting is informally called a "341 meeting" because section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires that the debtor attend this meeting so that creditors can question the debtor about debts and property. |
| Bankruptcy Estate | All the debtor’s non-exempt property. In many consumer Chapter 7 cases, all the debtor’s property is exempt under the federal or state exemption framework. These are referred to as “no asset” cases simply because there are no non-exempt assets to put in the bankruptcy estate. |
| Creditor | Every person, business entity, or government owed money or other obligation[ We typically think of obligations owed by one person to another in terms of money, but obligations can take other forms as well. For example, when a person leases an apartment, the person is obligated to pay rent and the landlord is obligated to forego the use of the leased apartment. ] by the debtor. |
| Debtor | The person or business on whose behalf, or in some business cases[ Sometimes, a business’s creditors will force the business into bankruptcy in order to protect the creditors’ interests. This almost never happens in consumer bankruptcies.], against whom the bankruptcy case is filed. |
| Exemptions | Federal and state law provides that certain property belonging to the debtor is exempt from being included in the bankruptcy estate. |
| Petition | The papers filed with the Bankruptcy Court to start the case. The petition includes financial information about the debtor, the list of creditors, and other important information. |
| Repayment Plan | When a person or business files under Chapter 13, or a family farm files under Chapter 12, they submit a repayment plan proposal describing how they intend to repay the debts. |
| Reaffirmation | A process by which a debtor voluntarily renews a secured debt to avoid the loss of the secured property. |
| Secured debt | A type of debt for which a debtor has pledged property as collateral, for example, a car loan. |
| Trustee | A court-appointed administrator who supervises the bankruptcy estate |
| Unsecured debt | A type of debt for which no collateral is given, for example, credit card debt. |
We typically think of obligations owed by one person to another in terms of money, but obligations can take other forms as well. For example, when a person leases an apartment, the person is obligated to pay rent and the landlord is obligated to forego the use of the leased apartment.
Sometimes, a business’s creditors will force the business into bankruptcy in order to protect the creditors’ interests. This almost never happens in consumer bankruptcies.
Some debts such as delinquent taxes and student loans are generally not dischargeable.
