Precedent - A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court. Judges will generally "follow precedent" - meaning that they use the principles established in earlier cases to decide new cases that have similar facts and raise similar legal issues. A judge will disregard precedent if a party can show that the earlier case was wrongly decided, or that it differed in some significant way from the current case.⏎
Plan - A debtor's detailed description of how the debtor proposes to pay creditors' claims over a fixed period of time.⏎
No-asset case - A Chapter 7 case in which there are no assets available to satisfy any portion of the creditors' unsecured claims.⏎
Proof of claim - A written statement describing the reason a debtor owes a creditor money, which typically sets forth the amount of money owed. (There is an official form for this purpose.)⏎
Prebankruptcy planning - The arrangement (or rearrangement) of a debtor's property to allow the debtor to take maximum advantage of exemptions. (Prebankruptcy planning typically includes converting nonexempt assets into exempt assets.)⏎