As it officially known by the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court system, the B-10 proof of claim petition is one of the more complex
documents in the bankruptcy court roster. As a matter of fact, it even includes a glossary of terms.
Probably the most critical piece of information to be listed in the proof of
claim form is the amount of the claim at the time of filing. Of course, it goes
without saying that this datum should be accurate and listed in good faith.
Another important detail to be factored into
the proof of claim is the “basis for claim” of the creditors.
This means that a lender must disclose how exactly the debt was incurred and
show discretion as to what information may be considered sensitive, and therefore, should be at least blacked out in copies.
The proof of claim form also gives
credence to creditors’ claims secured against one of the debtor’s assets and
certain “priority claims.” Almost always, a correctly
completed proof of claim is needed for the officers of the court to
dignify creditors with a recognition of their ability to collect at least a
portion of the funds owed them according to the original debtor-creditor agreement.
Depending on the discretion of the court, however, in some cases claims may be
accepted without the preferred submission of the proof of claim form,
provided the appeal is signed in writing by the creditor and reflects a genuine
claim of theirs. By no means does this imply that lenders should bank on their
ability to not file their documents correctly, though.
