What is a support claim?
For a bankruptcy application, there must be a plurality of creditors: the debtor must have multiple creditors who have remained unpaid. You can file for bankruptcy yourself as a single creditor, but for the actual declaration of bankruptcy by the court, there must be at least one other creditor with a claim against the debtor.
That claim by the other creditor is called the supporting claim. Without a supporting claim, the court dismisses the bankruptcy petition — even if your own claim is entirely justified.
Why do you need a supporting claim?
Bankruptcy has far-reaching consequences — for the debtor, but also for their employees, suppliers, and customers. The law therefore requires that bankruptcy be declared only if the debtor has demonstrably left multiple creditors unpaid. That is proof that they have actually ceased making payments — and are not merely refusing to settle your specific invoice.
If you are the only creditor with a claim, the court cannot determine that the debtor has systematically ceased making payments. The application will then be rejected.
What are the requirements for a supporting claim?
No high demands are placed on a supporting claim, but it must be properly substantiated. An oral conversation with a collection employee is insufficient — the court expects concrete documentation.
The supporting claim must relate to an existing claim. Future claims that have yet to arise are not usable.
The supporting claim does not need to be due and payable, but your own claim must be due and payable. In principle, a claim for which a payment arrangement has been made can also serve as a supporting claim.
In principle, a subordinated loan cannot be used as the sole supporting claim — subordination inherently means that the creditor in question stands at the back of the queue, which does not substantiate the bankruptcy situation.
The supporting claim does not need to be disclosed immediately in the application — it only needs to be substantiated at the hearing. This offers room for negotiation: you can submit the application without immediately disclosing the supporting claim, and the debtor retains the opportunity to pay your claim before the hearing takes place.
How does MKBjuristen track down a supporting claim?
We conduct a supporting claim investigation via databases, public registers, the Trade Register, and our network of collection agencies and lawyers. We search for other creditors of your debtor with an due or existing claim.
Concrete sources for a supporting claim include other suppliers of the debtor, the Tax and Customs Administration in the case of outstanding tax debts, the UWV in the case of outstanding premiums, a health insurer in the case of
premium arrears, and other known creditors who receive no payment or delayed payment.
The investigation results in a substantiated report that can be submitted to the court at the hearing. The lawyer incorporates the supporting claim into the bankruptcy petition.
What if no supporting claim is found?
If the investigation yields no usable supporting claim, a bankruptcy petition is not possible as leverage. We will then advise you honestly regarding the alternative routes: legal proceedings via summons, provisional attachment, or another collection strategy.
