Bankruptcy forms and court notices use a small vocabulary over and over. These are the words that come up most, in alphabetical order.
341 meeting
The meeting of creditors, named after the section of the Bankruptcy Code that requires it. The trustee asks the filer questions under oath about the paperwork. No judge attends, and creditors rarely do.
Adversary proceeding
A lawsuit filed inside a bankruptcy case. It’s how a creditor asks the court to rule that a specific debt can’t be discharged, and how a filer asks to discharge student loans.
Automatic stay
The court order that takes effect the moment a case is filed. It stops collection calls, lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions, and foreclosure sales while the case is open.
Bankruptcy estate
Everything the filer owns or has a right to on the filing date. The trustee is in charge of the estate. Exempt property comes back out of it.
Chapter 7
The bankruptcy chapter that erases most unsecured debt in about four months. A trustee can sell property that isn’t exempt, though in most consumer cases there’s none.
Chapter 13
The bankruptcy chapter built on a three-to-five-year repayment plan. The filer keeps their property and pays a trustee monthly.
Confirmation
A judge’s approval of a Chapter 13 plan. Once a plan is confirmed, it binds the filer and every creditor.
Credit counseling
The course every individual filer takes within the 180 days before filing. The certificate from it is filed with the court.
Creditor
A person, company, or agency the filer owes money to.
Creditor matrix
The mailing list of every creditor’s name and address, filed with the petition. The court uses it to send notices. Each court sets its own formatting rules for it.
Debtor
The person who files the bankruptcy case.
Debtor education
The second required course, on personal financial management, taken after filing. The court won’t enter a discharge without it.
Discharge
The court order that permanently bars creditors from collecting the debts it covers. It’s the goal of a consumer bankruptcy case.
Dismissal
The court ending a case without a discharge, usually over a missed deadline, missing document, or missed payment. The debts remain owed.
Exemption
A law that protects a category of property, up to a dollar amount, from the trustee and creditors. Claimed on Schedule C.
Joint petition
One bankruptcy case filed by a married couple together, with one filing fee.
Lien
A creditor’s legal claim on a specific piece of property, like a mortgage on a house. Liens generally survive a discharge.
Means Test
The income calculation that determines who can file Chapter 7 and how long a Chapter 13 plan runs. It compares household income to the state median.
No-asset case
A Chapter 7 case where everything the filer owns is exempt, so the trustee has nothing to sell. Most consumer Chapter 7 cases are no-asset cases.
Non-dischargeable debt
A debt that bankruptcy doesn’t erase. Child support, most student loans, and recent taxes are the common ones.
Petition
The form that opens a bankruptcy case. For individuals it’s Official Form 101.
Priority debt
An unsecured debt the law puts at the front of the line, such as recent taxes and support obligations. A Chapter 13 plan has to pay priority debts in full.
Pro se
Latin for “on one’s own behalf.” A pro se filer handles their case without an attorney.
Proof of claim
The form a creditor files with the court to say how much it’s owed. Creditors file one to get paid by the trustee.
Reaffirmation
A signed agreement, filed during a Chapter 7 case, to keep owing a debt that would otherwise be discharged. Used most often for car loans.
Schedules
The set of forms, 106A/B through 106J, that list the filer’s property, exemptions, debts, contracts, co-signers, income, and expenses.
Secured debt
A debt backed by property the creditor can take if it isn’t paid. Mortgages and car loans are secured debts.
Statement of Financial Affairs
Official Form 107. It asks about the filer’s recent financial history: income, payments to creditors, property transfers, lawsuits, and closed accounts.
Statement of Intention
Official Form 108, used in Chapter 7. It states what the filer will do with property that secures a debt: keep it and keep paying, reaffirm, redeem, or surrender it.
Trustee
The person appointed to administer a case. A Chapter 7 trustee reviews the paperwork and sells non-exempt property. A Chapter 13 trustee collects plan payments and pays creditors.
U.S. Trustee
The Department of Justice program that supervises bankruptcy trustees and approves the course providers. In Alabama and North Carolina, Bankruptcy Administrators do this job instead.
Unsecured debt
A debt with no property backing it. Credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans are unsecured debts.
To see how these fit together in order, read The filing process, step by step.