Investors may seek to purchase bankruptcy claims against a debtor as part of an investment strategy. What do they need to know before they invest?

What is a composition agreement? It’s a bankruptcy alternative that can alter payments to creditors that want to keep the debtor in business. Learn more in this 90 second lesson.

QUESTION: Scott T,  emailed, asking, “I have a client who owns a few income-producing properties, and she thinks she may not be able to make her next mortgage payments to her lender. What should I tell her to expect?” ANSWER: Once a default on a commercial loan is looming or occurs, a proactive mortgage lender should be expected to review several factors surrounding property management. If a third-party manager is involved, the lender will want to determine whether any lien rights arise in favor of this property manager, including in […]

Why Sell a Bankruptcy Claim? Imagine this: One of your customers sends you a notice stating it has filed for chapter 7 or chapter 11 bankruptcy protection rather than the payment for goods or services provided that you were expecting. In technical terms, you now have a “claim” against the “debtor,” but you aren’t sure you want to deal with the bankruptcy process and delay only to recover part of what you are owed. When a bankruptcy claims purchaser offers to purchase your bankruptcy claim from you for cash, you […]

On July 20, 2015, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, made history by filing what we in the restructuring industry like to call “Chapter 22 Bankruptcy.” Read more to see how this case unfolded and what it means for struggling grocers and retail stores.

The borrower is an LLC managed by a greedy principal member. The borrower slowly pays the secured creditor and unsecured creditors over years and its business becomes insolvent. The insolvent LLC makes cash distributions to its members, but not to the secured creditors. Is there a law against this sort of behavior?

A creditor may seek appointment of a chapter 11 trustee in replacement of the debtor in possession, but there are special considerations to make first.

Editor’s Note: this is part of our irregular series in which we answer readers’ questions. If you have a question, submit it to [email protected] and we will try to answer it. Question Robin T. wrote in asking, I own a small retail chain that has been struggling. I hired a lawyer to negotiate with my creditors, and she told me I should speak with my accountant about the possible tax consequences of getting my creditors to forgive some of the company’s debt. The IRS can’t be that cruel, can it? Answer. Indeed […]

What Distressed Asset Investors Can Glean from Low Interest Rates, Rising Asset Prices and Insolvency on the Horizon DailyDAC readers know that we try to confine ourselves to publishing “evergreen” thought leadership—general education for business owners and investors about business bankruptcy, its alternatives, and related subjects. There isn’t a stark line between the news of the day about the Markets and the Economy, on the one hand, and the world that is our stock and trade. We have, in the past few weeks, had a number of conversations with some […]

What Happens When Your Consignee Becomes Distressed and What You Can Do I was speaking with a client yesterday about consignment arrangements. What we discussed should be of interest to any company that sells goods using a consignment arrangement, and I thought I would share. What is a Consignment Arrangement? In a consignment arrangement, the consignor, as owner of the goods, delivers them to a consignee.  The consignee, in turn, will try to sell those goods to customers. Be Careful Not to Mischaracterize the Proceeds You Expect from a Consignment […]