Avoidance (omstødelse)
Also known as clawback, reversal of transactions, omstøde, tilbageføring
Avoidance is when the trustee claws a transaction back into the estate — typically a payment that left one creditor better off than the others.
In practice
The founding idea of Konkursloven (the Danish Bankruptcy Act) is that creditors must be treated equally. The rules on avoidance enforce it: a debtor who pays one creditor shortly before going bankrupt — perhaps the one who pushed hardest — has given that creditor an advantage at the expense of the others. That payment can be reclaimed.
It is an unpleasant surprise for the creditor who finally got its money. And it is one more reason not to wait until the debtor is on the brink: a payment you receive in good time is safe. A payment you force through at the eleventh hour may not be.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- You celebrate a late payment from a distressed customer. It can come back.
- You overlook that new security can also be avoided — not just payments.