The verification stage

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Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, KVK
Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, KVK

Your possessions and other assets will be used to pay off your creditors. But first, the curator will check your records to see if all the claims really are debts. This is called the verification stage.

Verification meeting

During the verification meeting, the curator or receiver reviews all your debts. Creditors are invited to explain their claims. If the curator and creditors fail to come to an agreement, the court decides. It is also possible to have a verification meeting without any creditors present.

Agreement with creditors

You can attempt to reach an agreement with your creditors. You can offer to repay them part of the debt, in exchange for a complete remission. During the course of going bankrupt, you can only make such an offer once. The creditors will put the offer to the vote during the verification meeting. The majority has to accept the offer for an agreement. The majority represents at least half of the total amount of the debt.

Taking the agreement to court

If the civil court accepts the agreement that was reached by the majority of creditors, it will be approved (this is called homologation). This makes the agreement binding for all creditors, including the ones who did not accept the offer during the verification meeting. As soon as the court approves the agreement, your bankruptcy ends.

Failure to reach an agreement

If you cannot reach an agreement with your creditors, or if the court refuses to ratify it, a state of insolvency follows. Your belongings will be sold, and the proceeds divided among the creditors. This division is done according to a ranking.

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