Bankruptcy

A legal process initiated after an individual or business is no longer able to pay their debts. The bankruptcy process typically begins with a petition filed by the debtor or, in some cases, on behalf of creditors. All of the debtor’s assets are measured and evaluated, whereupon the assets are used to repay as much of the outstanding debt as possible. Debtors exit bankruptcy with a court-mandated plan to repay a portion of what they still owe, or with all pre-bankruptcy debts wiped out.