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Where in the queue does your claim sit?
The rank under the Danish Bankruptcy Act, s. 93 to s. 98 — and what stands ahead of you in the queue.
A bankruptcy estate does not distribute by who chases hardest, but by an order the statute lays down: § 93, § 95, § 97, § 98. The rank decides whether a claim receives a dividend or nothing — and it was settled the day you accepted the order, not the day the estate opened. Find the rank of your own claim.
How it is calculated
- Estate claims (§ 93) are the estate’s own costs: the trustee’s fee, running the business after the order, and whatever the estate orders itself. They are paid first and eat into the funds that would otherwise be distributed.
- Preferential claims (§ 95) are chiefly wages and holiday pay. They rank ahead of suppliers.
- Unsecured claims (§ 97) are the great majority of supplier claims. They receive nothing until everything above is paid — and in many estates that means nothing at all.
- Subordinated claims (§ 98) are interest accrued after the order, fines and promised gifts. Payment here presupposes that every unsecured claim has been paid in full, which rarely happens.
- A charge or retention of title stands outside the queue. The security covers what it covers — and any shortfall falls back into the queue as an unsecured claim.
What is often got wrong
- The claim is filed with interest running to today
- Interest effectively stops on the date of the bankruptcy order. Everything accruing after that is subordinated under § 98 and does not lift the dividend. State the claim as at the date of the order.
- A delivery the estate itself ordered is filed as an ordinary claim
- If the estate ordered the goods after the bankruptcy order, it is an estate claim under § 93. That puts the claim at the front instead of the back — but only if you file it as what it is.
- Filing is skipped because "there will be nothing anyway"
- Filing costs a letter. Without it the dividend is nil for certain, however large the estate turns out to be.
- The order of priority is discovered inside the estate
- By then it is too late. The rank was settled when the order was accepted without retention of title or a charge. That is a decision in the credit policy, not in the collection process.
Frequently asked questions
Do unsecured creditors get anything out of a bankruptcy?
Often nothing. Unsecured claims under § 97 are covered only once the estate’s own costs, the trustee’s fee and the wage claims have been paid — and in many estates the funds do not reach that far. File anyway: without a filing the dividend is nil for certain.
Can I claim interest up to the day the estate pays?
No. Interest accrued after the bankruptcy order is subordinated under § 98 and is almost never covered. State the claim as at the date of the order — an interest calculation running to today does not belong in the filing.
How do we get out of the queue?
By agreeing security before you deliver. A charge or retention of title gives you a right to the specific asset outside the distribution. It is the only decision that actually moves you — and it has to be taken while the customer is still paying.