Company bankruptcy

Running a business involves risks. Sometimes the company or the entrepreneur is no longer able to meet his or her payment obligations and is forced to cease payment to its creditors out of necessity. In these cases the court can declare a bankruptcy. The Corporate Law department of AK Advocaten has very thorough knowledge in the field of bankruptcy law/insolvency law, directors’ and officers’ liability and all else concerned. Partly because we also act as bankruptcy trustee in the bankruptcies of companies and as administrator in cases of moratorium of payment, we are very skilled in the assisting of companies which are going through difficult times and threaten to be heading towards bankruptcy.

No power of disposal

The result of bankruptcy is that the company or the entrepreneur loses the management and power of disposal over his or her assets. This lack of power of disposal means, for example, that the entrepreneur is no longer allowed to make payments or enter into contracts. In effect, attachment is made on the entire assets of the bankrupt entrepreneur and/or company, depending on the chosen legal form. These assets are used to pay the claims which the creditors jointly have against the bankrupt company or the bankrupt entrepreneur. The payments are made pro rata their claim, with due regard to any statutory or property-law rights of priority.

Bankruptcy trustee

In the event of bankruptcy of a company the court will appoint a bankruptcy trustee. The main duty of the bankruptcy trustee is to turn the assets of the debtor into cash and to divide the proceeds among the creditors. The bankruptcy trustee will investigate the state of affairs in the company during the period prior to the bankruptcy. He or she will also investigate whether or not sufficiently serious blame can be attributed to the director personally in order to demand compensation on the basis of directors' and officers' liability. The means of recovery for the joint creditors are increased in this manner. The bankruptcy trustee is not appointed to assist the entrepreneur, but to take care of the interests of the joint creditors. The bankruptcy trustee of course also takes social interests into consideration, such as the position of the employees of the bankrupt company. One of our lawyers, Hans van Oijen is regularly appointed as bankruptcy trustee. Creditors can submit their claim online in a simple manner (online submissions regarding claims of bankruptcy)

Assistance

If you engage AK Advocaten in a timely manner in the event of an impending bankruptcy, then we can limit the negative consequences for all parties involved as much as possible. For example, by rescheduling debts and/or offering a composition with creditors, bankruptcy can sometimes be prevented. If bankruptcy is unavoidable, then we compile a proper risk assessment in which the directors' and officers' liability and personal surety agreements are included in the aspects examined. We thereby take the necessary measures related to suitable financing and surety constructions.

Re-launch after company bankruptcy

The Corporate Law department of AK Advocaten assists entrepreneurs with advice and actions during the run up to bankruptcy. One of the key areas is full assistance with the re-launch of companies. For years, our office has played the leading role during a large number of successful re-launches. Would you like to find out how we can assist you? We would like to hear from you. Please contact us.  Corporate Law