Glossary

Palm Beach County Office

4400 Northcorp Parkway
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Phone: 561.626.7561
Fax: 561.626.7561

Martin County Office

8902 S.E. Bridge Road
Hobe Sound, FL. 33455
Phone: 772.408.6969
Fax: 772.781.8969

St. Lucie Information

2400 SE Veterans Memorial Parkway
Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
Phone: 772.408.6969
Fax: 772.781.8969

Bankruptcy Terms

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Term	Definition
Perfection	When a secured creditor has taken the required steps to perfect his lien, the lien is senior to any liens that arise after perfection. A mortgage is perfected by recording it with the county recorder; a lien in personal property is perfected by filing a financing statement with the secretary of state. An unperfected lien is valid between the debtor and the secured creditor, but may be behind liens created later in time, but perfected earlier than the lien in question. An unperfected lien can be avoided by the trustee.
Personal Property	Property that is not real property or affixed to real property, such as cars, stock, furniture, etc.
Petition	The document that initiates a bankruptcy case. The filing of the petition constitutes an order for relief and institutes the automatic stay. Events are frequently described as "prepetition", happening before the bankruptcy petition was filed, and "post petition", after the bankruptcy.
Pre-Petition	Claims or events arising before the commencement of the bankruptcy case, that is, before the filing of the bankruptcy petition. Generally only pre-petition debts may be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Preference	A transfer to a creditor in payment of an existing debt made within certain time periods before the commencement of the case. Preferences may be recovered by the trustee for the benefit of all creditors of the estate.
Priority	The Bankruptcy Code establishes the order in which claims are paid from the bankruptcy estate. All claims in a higher priority must be paid in full before claims with a lower priority receive anything. All claims with the same priority share pro rata. Claims are paid in this order: 1) costs of administration 2) priority claims and 3) general unsecured claims. Secured claims are paid from the proceeds of liquidating the collateral which secured the claim.
Priority Claims	Certain debts, such as unpaid wages, spousal or child support, and taxes are elevated in the payment hierarchy under the Code. Priority claims must be paid in full before general unsecured claims are paid.
Proof of Claim	Document a creditor files showing how much money is owed to them by the debtor, together with all supporting evidence of such claim. There is usually a deadline in which to file a Proof of Claim.
Property of the Estate	The property that is not exempt and belongs to the bankruptcy estate. Property of the estate is usually sold by the trustee and the claims of creditors paid from the proceeds.

Term

Definition

Perfection

When a secured creditor has taken the required steps to perfect his lien, the lien is senior to any liens that arise after perfection. A mortgage is perfected by recording it with the county recorder; a lien in personal property is perfected by filing a financing statement with the secretary of state. An unperfected lien is valid between the debtor and the secured creditor, but may be behind liens created later in time, but perfected earlier than the lien in question. An unperfected lien can be avoided by the trustee.

Personal Property

Property that is not real property or affixed to real property, such as cars, stock, furniture, etc.

Petition

The document that initiates a bankruptcy case. The filing of the petition constitutes an order for relief and institutes the automatic stay. Events are frequently described as "prepetition", happening before the bankruptcy petition was filed, and "post petition", after the bankruptcy.

Pre-Petition

Claims or events arising before the commencement of the bankruptcy case, that is, before the filing of the bankruptcy petition. Generally only pre-petition debts may be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Preference

A transfer to a creditor in payment of an existing debt made within certain time periods before the commencement of the case. Preferences may be recovered by the trustee for the benefit of all creditors of the estate.

Priority

The Bankruptcy Code establishes the order in which claims are paid from the bankruptcy estate. All claims in a higher priority must be paid in full before claims with a lower priority receive anything. All claims with the same priority share pro rata. Claims are paid in this order: 1) costs of administration 2) priority claims and 3) general unsecured claims. Secured claims are paid from the proceeds of liquidating the collateral which secured the claim.

Priority Claims

Certain debts, such as unpaid wages, spousal or child support, and taxes are elevated in the payment hierarchy under the Code. Priority claims must be paid in full before general unsecured claims are paid.

Proof of Claim

Document a creditor files showing how much money is owed to them by the debtor, together with all supporting evidence of such claim. There is usually a deadline in which to file a Proof of Claim.

Property of the Estate

The property that is not exempt and belongs to the bankruptcy estate. Property of the estate is usually sold by the trustee and the claims of creditors paid from the proceeds.

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