Series 79: 14.2.1. Secured Claims

14.2.1. Secured Claims

A secured claim is a claim that is secured by a perfected lien, a security interest, or pledge of collateral, which might be real estate, equipment, cash, receivables, or other assets. (A creditor is said to have a perfected lien on a piece of the debtor’s property when the creditor has properly asserted its rights with regard to the property, by making the proper filings with the correct legal authority, typically a county or a court. A creditor that has perfected its lien can take priority over other creditors with rights to the same property.) Secured creditors enjoy the highest priority status of any creditor: they are paid from the collateral securing their claims before any unsecured creditor gets paid. Where there are multiple secured creditors, the creditors with senior claims—a lien that was filed before other liens o