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- Backdating
- upon timely completion of the prescribed act of perfection, some liens are given retrospective effect so that their priority will date from some specified earlier time.
- Badge of Fraud
- suspicious circumstances leading to the inference that a transfer made by the debtor was motivated by the actual intent to defraud creditors.
- BAFJA
- The Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984, which made several significant amendments to the Code.
- Bail
- The release, prior to trial, of a person accused of a crime, under specified conditions designed to assure that person's appearance in court when required. Also can refer to the amount of bond money posted as a financial condition of pretrial release.
- Balance Sheet Test
- See insolvency
- Bankruptcy
- A legal procedure for dealing with debt problems of individuals and businesses; specifically, a case filed under one of the chapters of title 11 of the United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code).
- Bankruptcy Act
- the name of the bankruptcy laws in effect in the United States between 1898 and September 30, 1979.
- Bankruptcy administrator
- An officer of the Judiciary serving in the judicial districts of Alabama and North Carolina who, like the United States trustee, is responsible for supervising the administration of bankruptcy cases, estates, and trustees; monitoring plans and disclosure statements; monitoring creditors' committees; monitoring fee applications; and performing other statutory duties.
- Bankruptcy Alternatives
- assignments for the benefits of creditors, bulk sales, and composition agreements.
- Bankruptcy Code
- Title 11 of the United States Code governs bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy is a matter of federal law and is the same in every state, with the exception of exemptions which may vary from state to state.
- Bankruptcy court
- The bankruptcy judges in regular active service in each district; a unit of the district court.
- Bankruptcy Estate
- The estate consists of legal and equitable interests of the debtor at the commencement of the case. From the estate, an individual debtor can claim certain property exempt; the balance of the estate is liquidated in a Chapter 7 to pay the administrative costs of the proceeding and the claims of creditors according to their priority.
- Bankruptcy judge
- A judicial officer of the United States district court who is the court official with decision-making power over federal bankruptcy cases.
- Bankruptcy petition
- A formal request for the protection of the federal bankruptcy laws. (There is an official form for bankruptcy petitions.)
- Bankruptcy Petition Preparer
- a person other than an attorney or an attorney's employee who prepares for compensation a document for filing with the Bankruptcy Court. An unsupervised paralegal may be a bankruptcy petition preparer. Bankruptcy petition preparers are the subject of Bankruptcy Code Section 110.
- Bankruptcy Proceeding
- A bankruptcy case filed pursuant to a particular Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code. Bankruptcy proceedings are Chapter 7 liquidations and the various reorganization proceedings provided for by Chapters 9, 11, 12, and 13.
- Bankruptcy Reform Act
- the 1978 statute which, with amendments, forms the present Code.
- Bankruptcy Systems
- the methods developed by societies to resolve the effects of financial crisis between debtors and creditors.
- Bankruptcy Test
- See insolvency.
- Bankruptcy trustee
- A private individual or corporation appointed in all Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases to represent the interests of the bankruptcy estate and the debtor's creditors.
- Bench Trial
- A trial without a jury, in which the judge serves as the fact-finder.
- Best Interests Test
- one of the standards for plan confirmation, which requires that the total amount to be paid on a claim under the plan has a present value at least equal to what the claimant would have received had the estate been liquidated under Chapter 7. The requirement of present value is intended to compensate the claimant for having to await distribution over time instead of receiving immediate payment upon liquidation of the estate. The present value of the distribution is determined by adding interest at the market rate to the face value of the hypothetical Chapter 7 payment. (§§1129(a)(7), 1225(a)(4) and 1325(a)(4))
- Bifurcation of Claim
- See claim bifurcation
- Bona Fide Purchaser
- (Latin: "good faith".) A person who, in a consensual transaction, acquires rights in property in good faith (i.e., with subjective honesty) for value and without actual or constructive notice that the purchase violates rights in the property held by a person other than the transferor. See good faith purchase.
- Brief
- A written statement submitted in a trial or appellate proceeding that explains one side's legal and factual arguments.
- Bulk Sale
- a nonbankruptcy notice procedure affording creditors an opportunity to file claims when all or substantially all the assets of a debtor are sold at one time or to limited buyers. Bulk sales are the subject of Article 6 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
- Burden of Proof
- The duty to prove disputed facts. In civil cases, a plaintiff generally has the burden of proving his or her case. In criminal cases, the government has the burden of proving the defendant's guilt. (See standard of proof.)
- Business bankruptcy
- A bankruptcy case in which the debtor is a business or an individual involved in business and the debts are for business purposes.
- Business Judgment Rule
- a standard for court approval of the trustee's decision to assume or reject an executory contract, under which the court declines to interfere with the trustee's decision if it was made in good faith and was a reasonable business judgment.
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