Bankruptcy Law: A Comprehensive Guide to Chapters 7 11 and 13

72 questions on bankruptcy law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Am I stuck with a nondischargeable debt caused by my business partner's fraud?
• Can a bankruptcy case end with a settlement that skips a priority class?
• Can a bankruptcy court take exempt property away to punish a debtor's misconduct?
• Can a bankruptcy plan release claims against people who did not file bankruptcy?
• Can a Chapter 7 case be dismissed even if the debtor passes the means test?
• Can a creditor set off what it owes the debtor against what the debtor owes it?
• Can a wholly unsecured second mortgage be stripped off in Chapter 13?
• Can I cram down my car loan in Chapter 13?
• Can I reduce my mortgage to the value of my house in Chapter 13?
• Can I remove a judgment lien from my home in bankruptcy?
• Can student loans be discharged in bankruptcy?
• Does a bankruptcy discharge get rid of liens on my property?
• Does a company's bankruptcy protect the owner who personally guaranteed its debts?
• Does a creditor holding my repossessed car have to return it when I file bankruptcy?
• Does filing bankruptcy change my rights under state law?
• How are contingent or unliquidated claims handled in bankruptcy?
• How can a debtor lose the bankruptcy discharge entirely?
• How does a creditor file a proof of claim, and what deadline applies?
• How does a secured creditor get relief from the automatic stay?
• How does Chapter 11 work, and who runs the company during the case?
• How does subchapter V differ from an ordinary Chapter 11?
• How is a landlord's claim capped when a bankrupt tenant rejects a lease?
• How quickly does a motion for relief from the automatic stay move?
• If I inherit money after filing bankruptcy, do my creditors get it?
• In what order do creditors get paid in a bankruptcy case?
• Is a confirmed Chapter 13 plan binding even if it was legally wrong?
• Is a debt from an accident or from malpractice wiped out in bankruptcy?
• Is an IRA I inherited protected in bankruptcy?
• Is an undersecured creditor entitled to interest as adequate protection?
• I shipped goods to a customer right before it filed bankruptcy — do I have any priority?
• Is my 401(k) or pension safe in bankruptcy?
• On what grounds can a bankruptcy claim be disallowed?
• Should I reaffirm a debt to keep my car in Chapter 7?
• What actually happens in a Chapter 7 case?
• What are the constitutional limits on a bankruptcy judge's authority?
• What are the deadline traps that most often ruin a bankruptcy case?
• What can I do if a creditor keeps trying to collect after I file bankruptcy?
• What creditor actions are not stopped by the automatic stay?
• What defenses do I have to a bankruptcy preference claim?
• What does it take to confirm a Chapter 11 plan?
• What does the automatic stay stop?
• What happens if a bankruptcy estate has more money than it owes?
• What happens if a creditor tries to collect a debt that was already discharged?
• What happens if I cannot finish my Chapter 13 plan?
• What happens if the trustee misses the deadline to object to a claimed exemption?
• What happens to a trademark license when the licensor rejects it in bankruptcy?
• What interest rate must a Chapter 13 plan pay on a crammed-down secured claim?
• What is a bankruptcy discharge, and who can get one?
• What is a Chapter 13 cramdown, and how is the collateral valued?
• What is a fraudulent transfer, and how far back can a bankruptcy trustee reach?
• What is an executory contract, and what can a bankruptcy debtor do with one?
• What is a § 363 sale, and can the secured lender bid its debt?
• What is bankruptcy actually for?
• What is cash collateral, and how does a Chapter 11 debtor fund operations?
• What is subchapter V, and which small businesses qualify?
• What is the absolute priority rule, and can a business owner keep equity over creditor objection?
• What is the creditors' committee in a Chapter 11 case?
• What is the deadline for a bankrupt tenant to assume or reject a commercial lease?
• What is the deadline for a creditor to challenge the dischargeability of a debt?
• What is the means test, and how does it decide whether I can file Chapter 7?
• What is the § 341 meeting of creditors, and how dangerous is it?
• What is the Section 546(e) securities safe harbor, and what did Merit Management change?
• What must a Chapter 13 plan pay unsecured creditors?
• What property becomes part of the bankruptcy estate when I file?
• What property can I keep when I file bankruptcy?
• Which chapter of bankruptcy should I file?
• Which debts survive bankruptcy?
• Which state's exemptions apply if I recently moved to a new state?
• Who is eligible to file Chapter 13?
• Why am I being sued to return money a customer paid me before it went bankrupt?
• Why do bankruptcy exemptions vary so much from state to state?
• Why would someone file Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7?