Bankruptcy estate (konkursbo)
Also known as the estate, estate administration, trustee, boet, bobehandling, kurator
The bankruptcy estate is the pool of assets that remains once bankruptcy has been declared — and which the trustee must realise and distribute among the creditors.
In practice
Once the bankruptcy order has been issued, the debtor loses control of its assets and a trustee (kurator) takes over. The trustee must locate the assets, sell them, and distribute the proceeds according to the ranking of claims under Konkursloven (the Danish Bankruptcy Act).
As a creditor you have one task, and it is critical: file your claim in the estate. It is done in writing to the trustee, with documentation. If you do not, the claim does not exist in the eyes of the estate, and you will receive no dividend — however well documented it may be.
The trustee is also under a duty to examine whether any transactions in the run-up to the bankruptcy can be set aside — for example payments to a single creditor that left him better off than the others.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- Waiting to be contacted. The trustee does not necessarily know about your claim. File it yourself, and file it early.
- The documentation is incomplete. File with the invoice, the agreement and a statement of interest and costs — not just an amount.