Русско-англо-русский юридический словарь

When a bankruptcy case is filed with a court, a bankruptcy estate, which includes all of a debtor’s legal and equitable interests, is formed. Typically, the estate is subject to the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction, and it is reviewed by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee. The trustee generally represents the creditors’ interests in the suit. During the bankruptcy proceedings, the estate becomes the legal owner of the debtor’s tangible and intangible assets. Assets held in a bankruptcy estate are frequently sold by the trustee in order to pay off the debtor’s outstanding obligations. (WiseGEEK)

A creditor in bankruptcy is anyone with a claim against a bankrupt business, even if a formal claim is not filed in the bankruptcy case. (federalreserve.gov)

Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ratione materiae[1]) is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority to hear bankruptcy cases. (Wikipedia)