Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11 | Top 7 Differences To Learn (With Infographics)

Difference between Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11

If any business/person is thinking to file bankruptcy, this is not an easy task/decision to be made. There is a lot of complications involved and one has to decide which chapter of bankruptcy to choose to file the bankruptcy. Chapter 7 of bankruptcy is also known as liquidation bankruptcy or straight bankruptcy. Under this chapter, the debtors can surrender assets and can quickly eliminate their unsecured debts like personal loans, etc which has no collateral. There will be no repayment schedule under this type of bankruptcy since the asset liquidation will help in recovering the debt value. On the other hand, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is also called rehabilitation bankruptcy, allows the party filing bankruptcy to pay their debts back over a period of time. In other words, it is a more organized approach which helps the businesses to restructure their operations and emerge as a more healthy organization. here we will learn the difference between Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11.

Head To Head Comparison between Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11(Infographics)

Below is the top 7 difference between Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11

Key differences between Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11

Both chapter 7 vs chapter 11 are the bankruptcy sections which can be used by individuals or business to file the bankruptcy. Although these two chapters provide in filing bankruptcy, there are various differences which are listed below:

Chapter 7 is the final step of any business and if bankruptcy is filed under this section, the business operations will no longer exist. This is not the case with Chapter 11 filling as this filling basically helps in restructuring the debt and allow businesses to continue their operations
The company is basically disposing of debts they have by liquidating the assets so that the creditors are paid. On the other hand, Chapter 11 basically keeps the hope alive that business will do come back in future
Cost of filing bankruptcy under chapter 7 is relatively lower than chapter 11
Under both the chapter a trustee is appointed but has a different role to play. In chapter 7, the business will seize its operation and the trustee will sell the assets to pay back the creditors. In chapter 11, the trustee will only oversee the operation of the business and debt restructuring
There is no need of an attorney for filing bankruptcy under chapter 7 but filling under chapter 11 is a complex process and need a greater amount of knowledge

Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11 Comparison Table

Let’s look at the top 7 Comparison Between Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11

Chapter 7	Chapter 11
For any individual or any business, Chapter 7 is the last step of their operations and they sieze to operate after filling under this section	This section allows the party who is filing bankruptcy under this section to reorganize the bankruptcy and continue its operations
The attorney cost and filing fees for this section is substantially lower than chapter 11	The attorney cost and filing fees for this section is substantially higher than chapter 11
In this section, creditors are not paid back by debtors but they receive the share of the money when the assets are sold	In this section, debtors have to have a reorganization plan in place which basically outline how the creditors will be paid back
A trustee is appointed in this section, who can decide to operate the business for some time before closing all the operations to generate some money for the creditors	In this section also, there is a trustee appointed but his role is not to sell the assets but to supervise the operations and the business will continue to operate by the owners
Chapter 7 has limited forms for filing bankruptcy and is less in number than Chapter 11	The forms in chapter 11 are more complicated than in chapter 7
Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be filled without an attorney	Chapter 11 bankruptcy filling needs the help of attorney since it requires to have more knowledge of bankruptcy code
Debt is absolved in chapter 7 filling	Debt is not absolved but is restructured and there is a change in term of the debt

Conclusion

After discussing the above points, we can infer that both Chapter 7 vs chapter 11 are similar in the sense that both are useful sections if some individual or business wants to file bankruptcy. But they are different in the way they work. If the reason for applying for bankruptcy is that the party wants to shut down its operations, then chapter 7 is useful but if they want to continue the business operations, chapter 11 is effective.

Since in chapter 7, the businesses shut down its operations, so all of its assets are sold off and is then proceeds will be used to pay the creditors. So that is why there is no need from the debtors to pay any money or have any repayment schedule. But in chapter 11, debtors have to have a repayment schedule which will determine how the creditors will get paid. Chapter 11 is a more complex process than chapter 7 and therefore the cost involved is also higher than chapter 7.

In a nutshell, Both Chapter 7 vs Chapter 11 has their own pros and cons and it solely depends upon the purpose or intention of filing bankruptcy which will eventually help in selecting which chapter to be used.

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