What are the types of business bankruptcy?

The primary classifications for bankruptcy are as follows:

Liquidation 

Liquidation bankruptcy is the process by which the assets of an individual or business are liquidated or sold in an effort to generate funds to pay creditors. Any debts owed to creditors after the liquidation of assets and payment to creditors is discharged.

Note: Discharge of a debt means that the debt is erased and cannot be collected through legal means in the future. For individual debtors, some assets may be exempt from inclusion in the bankruptcy process.

Example: ABC Corp is suffering declining sales. The company debts exceed its assets and it cannot service all of its debts from its revenues. ABC Corp decides to file for liquidation bankruptcy, which involves selling off all of its assets and transferring the funds generated to creditors.

Reorganization 

A reorganization bankruptcy is a process by which the individual or business establish a plan to pay all secured debts and as much of its unsecured debts as possible during a set period of time (usual 5 years). The terms of the plan, including how much is paid to each creditor are based upon a number of factors, such as the amount of recurring, disposable income of the debtor. The unpaid portion of any unsecured debts are erased after the end of the payment plan period. The business may continue operations throughout this process.

Note: Creditors are paid based upon their priority and the status of their claims as secured or unsecured. Classes of investors receive a pro-rata share of available assets based upon the funds available and size of their claims. Secured creditors must be paid in full or a plan of reorganization fails.

Example: ABC Corp files for reorganization bankruptcy. All debt collections against the company halt. ABC must now come up with a plan to pay off its debts with income from future operations. It must use all disposable income to pay debts for the plan period. Secured debtors must be paid in full before unsecured debtors receive any funds.

Voluntary vs Involuntary 

The bankruptcy process begins either with a debtor filing a voluntary petition or creditors of the debtor filing an involuntary petition. A debtor who qualifies under the law and wishes to do so may file a voluntary bankruptcy petition. In other situations, a creditor (or creditors) of a business debtor who meets the statutory requirements may force the debtor into involuntary bankruptcy. The process for initiating an involuntary bankruptcy is discussed separately.

While the process for liquidation bankruptcy is similar for individuals and businesses, reorganization bankruptcy for each is distinct. Throughout this chapter, we focus on business bankruptcy; however, many of the concepts applicable to business bankruptcy apply equally to individuals.

Related Topics

• Bankruptcy Law (Intro)
• What is Bankruptcy?
• Insolvency - Definition
• What are the types of business bankruptcy?
• Chapter 9 Bankruptcy 
• Chapter 12 Bankruptcy
• Chapter 15 Bankruptcy 
• Who are the participants in the bankruptcy process?
• Key concepts behind the bankruptcy process?
• Absolute Priority Rule
• Pari Passu
• What rules govern the bankruptcy process?
• Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act
• American Bankruptcy Institute Definition
• What the authority of the bankruptcy court?
• What is the authority of the trustee (debtor in possession) in bankruptcy?
• Debtor in Possession
• What assets of the debtor are included in the bankruptcy estate?
• Bulk Sales Law
• What is the automatic stay in bankruptcy?
• What is a claim by creditors of the bankruptcy estate?
• What is voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy?
• What is the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process?
• What is the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process?
• How to File Bankruptcy for a Business
• Accept or reject contracts?
• Avoiding powers?
• Stay of Proceeding?
• Use of Business Assets?
• Post-Petition Financing?
• Bankruptcy Financing - Definition
• What is the appointment of a Trustee or Examiner in business bankruptcies?
• What is a Plan of Reorganization?
• Reorganization - Definition
• Subordinated Debt
• Preferred Debt
• What is Cramdown of a reorganization plan? 
• To what extent does the bankruptcy process relieve a debtor's debts?